<? 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE 


A  PIONEER  IN  CHEMISTRY 


1770-1809 


By 
EDGAR  P.  SMITH 

rBOVOBT  0V  THE  TTXIVIBSITT  OF  PEMNSTLVAMIA 


PUBLISHED     IN     PHILADELPHIA     BY 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  COMPANY 

1918 


To 

M.  A.  S. 


PREFACE 

Offering  to  readers  the  biography  of  a  man 
who  ceased  to  live  one  hundred  and  nine  years 
ago  may  call  for  explanation;  if  so,  the  reasons 
are  at  hand.  First,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  a  chemist;  second,  the  status  of  chemical 
science  in  our  country,  at  present,  is  excellent, 
and  in  the  future  is  bound  to  rise  to  an  even 
more  exalted  position,  so  it  is  hoped  that  the 
student  of  its  history,  upon  inquiring  as  to  its 
rise  and  development,  will  welcome  the  facts 
pertaining  to  the  labors  and  successes  of  its 
earliest  pioneers.  However,  the  records  of 
these  are  widely  scattered,  and  what  is  more, 
are  rapidly  disappearing.  To  assemble  those 
still  extant  would  require  much  time  and  endur- 
ing patience.  The  material  presented  in  the 
life-story  of  James  Woodhouse  has  been  gathered 
through  many  years,  and  as  it  has  grown  and 
been  studied  there  shone  forth  in  it  innumerable 
evidences  of  a  splendid,  masterly  leadership, 
with  data  of  exceptional  value.  For  instance, 
if  chemists  were  to  pause  and  ask — were  there 
chemists  on  these  shores  who  took  an  interest 
and  participated  in  the  struggle  waged  about 
the  new  chemistry,  as  set  forth  by  Lavoisier 
and  his  associates,  when  it  was  arrayed  against 

a 
382950 


iv  PREFACE 

the  strange  doctrine  promulgated  by  Becher, 
Stahl  and  hosts  of  devoted  experimenters  in 
many  lands,  the  answer,  so  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned, would  be  found  in  the  labors  of  Wood- 
house,  who  was  foremost  in  establishing  the 
teachings  of  the  French  School  upon  American 
soil?  And,  he  was  also  a  genuine  leader  in 
other  lines  of  chemical  endeavor,  for  he  was  a 
real  investigator,  who  independently  isolated 
potassium  and  published  facts  of  unusual  impor- 
tance. Today,  it  is  true,  many  of  his  observa- 
tions would  be  held  as  trivial,  but  compared 
with  contemporaneous  contributors  at  home 
and  abroad  they  rank  exceedingly  high.  Fur- 
ther, Woodhouse  introduced  Robert  Hare,  Ben- 
jamin Silliman  and  others  into  chemical  science; 
and  it  is  conceded  that  they,  too,  became  leaders 
in  this  field  of  research. 

The  writer  has  long  cherished  the  hope  that 
the  rising  generations  of  American  chemists 
would  seriously  interest  themselves  in  the  labors 
of  their  earlier  brothers,  and  as  a  slight  con- 
tribution to  that  end  he  submits  this  story  of 
the  achievements  of  James  Woodhouse,  a  pioneer 
in  Chemistry. 

E.  F.  S. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

A  PIONEER  IN  CHEMISTRY 
1770—1809 

Philadelphia  has  always  been  a  city  of  interest 
to  people  in  every  walk  of  life.  History  of  every 
variety  has  been  made  in  the  City  of  Brotherly 
Love.  Scientists  turn  to  it  to  read  the  early 
records  of  their  specialties;  and  to  none  does  it 
appeal  more  strongly  than  to  chemists,  especially 
to  those  who  cherish  the  past  and  the  humble 
beginnings  of  their  science. 

It  was  in  Philadelphia,  then,  that  American 
chemistry  laid  its  first  foundations.  It  is  gen- 
erally conceded  that  this  was  in  large  measure 
due  to  the  fact  that  Joseph  Priestley,  on  his 
way  to  his  exile  home,  tarried  long  in  Philadel- 
phia; and  later,  at  intervals,  found  his  way  from 
Northumberland  to  gather  with  congenial  spirits 
in  the  city.  Indeed,  Priestley  sojourned  here 
for  weeks  and  months  at  a  time  that  he  might 
deliver  a  "series  of  lectures  on  the  evidences 
of  revelation  to  crowded  audiences,  including 
most  of  the  members  of  the  United  States  Con- 
gress, at  that  time  sitting  in  Philadelphia,  and  of 
the  executive  officers  of  the  Government." 

(5) 


6  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"As  many  were  obliged  to  stand  as  sit,  and  the 
doorways  were  crowded,"  wrote  Priestley. 

In  this  way  and  by  other  means  he  influenced 
the  thought  of  the  day,  particularly  that  per- 
taining to  the  science  of  Chemistry.  The 
young  men  of  the  city  met  and  conversed  with 
him.  Elsewhere,  it  has  been  observed  that 
Robert  Hare,  in  the  beginning  of  his  experi- 
mental career,  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  exhibiting 
his  oxy-hydrogen  blow-pipe  to  Priestley,  and 
Silliman,  the  elder,  notes  with  evident  pleasure 
his  meeting  with  Priestley  in  the  home  of  the 
distinguished  Dr.  Wistar;  while  Thomas  Twin- 
ing (Travels  in  America  100  Years  Ago)  wrote, 
"We  proceeded  to  Dr.  Priestley's  house  in  the 
upper  part  of  High  Street,  in  a  row  of  small 
houses  between  Sixth  and  Seventh  streets, 
remarkable  for  their  pleasant  appearance, 
standing  back  a  few  yards  from  the  footpath, 
and  having  small  gardens,  separated  by  painted 
rails,  before  them.  ...  It  was  here  that  the 
English  philosopher,  the  benefactor  of  his  coun- 
try and  of  mankind  by  his  discoveries  in  useful 
science,  had  taken  up  his  abode.  Having  passed 
through  the  garden  of  one  of  the  first  houses, 
the  door  was  soon  opened  by  a  female  servant, 
who,  saying  that  the  Doctor  was  at  home,  con- 
ducted us  into  a  small  room  by  the  side  of  the 
passage,  looking  toward  the  street.  ...  In 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  7 

a  few  minutes  the  Doctor,  having  quitted,  prob- 
ably, his  studies,  entered  the  room,  and  I  was 
at  once  relieved  from  a  sort  of  uneasiness  which 
precedes  an  introduction  to  a  great  man,  his 
countenance  being  exceedingly  mild  and  good- 
natured,  and  his  manner  no  less  easy  and  concili- 
ating. His  person,  short  and  slender,  his  age 
apparently  about  sixty,  with  an  unaffected 
cheerfulness.  .  .  .  The  Doctor  received  me 
with  hearty  kindness.  He  placed  me  near  the 
fire,  and  took  a  chair  by  my  side.  I  soon  found 
that  he  was  as  inquisitive  as  he  had  been  repre- 
sented to  be.  .  .  .  He  passed  from  general  to 
particular  questions.  .  .  .  Finally,  I  took  leave, 
much  gratified  with  this  personal  introduction 
to  a  celebrated  man,  of  whom  I  had  heard  a 
great  deal,  when  a  boy  at  school;  his  system 
of  Chemistry — his  phlogiston  and  anti-phlogiston 
and  fixed  air — then  making  much  noise,  and 
leading  to  various  experiments  upon  balloons, 
etc.,  in  which  boys  at  that  time,  I  among  others, 
took  a  part." 

This  delightful  visit  of  Mr.  Twining  was 
doubtless  but  a  prototype  of  the  hours  spent 
by  young  scientists  of  Philadelphia  in  the  com- 
pany of  the  man  who  thus  unconsciously 
inspired  and  to  a  great  degree,  molded  their 
scientific  proclivities. 

The  purpose  of  these  pages  is  to  present  the 


8  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

life-story  of  one  who  had  been  so  influenced. 
It  constitutes  a  very  definite  chapter  in  the 
development  of  Chemistry  in  this  country, 
and  the  impression,  after  its  perusal,  will  surely 
be  that  an  acquaintance  with  James  Woodhouse 
and  his  work  is  worth  while.  He  was  born  in 
Philadelphia,  November  17,  1770.  His  father, 
William  Woodhouse,  came  in  1766  to  Philadel- 
phia from  Alnwick,  England.  He  had  been  an 
officer  in  the  army  of  the  young  Pretender, 
and  fought  for  the  Stuart  cause  at  Preston 
Pans.  His  mother  was  Anne  Martin,  daughter 
of  Dr.  William  Martin  of  Edinburgh.  Imme- 
diately after  the  marriage  of  the  parents  they 
came  to  America,  making  their  home  at  No.  6 
South  Front  Street,  Philadelphia,  where  the 
father  began  business  as  a  bookseller  and  sta- 
tioner, and  was  esteemed  "an  industrious, 
worthy  citizen."  The  mother  was  reputed  to 
have  been  a  most  excellent  woman,  discharging 
all  her  social  and  family  duties  with  fidelity  and 
zeal. 

James  was  the  second  son  in  the  family. 
Records  fail  as  to  the  others.  Woodhouse 
himself  never  made  any  reference  to  his  family. 
Rumor  had  it  that  he  had  become  estranged 
from  all  his  kindred.  Be  that  as  it  may,  careful 
inquiry  in  comparatively  recent  years  has 
brought  nothing  to  light.  A  collateral  heir 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  9 

disclaimed  any  knowledge  of  the  family  history, 
and  assumed  utter  ignorance  of  the  life  experi- 
ences of  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  so  that 
such  facts  as  are  at  hand  come  from  the  writ- 
ings of  acquaintances,  or  from  fragmentary 
records  of  former  students.  There  seems, 
however,  to  have  been  an  earnest  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  parents  of  Woodhouse  to  have 
their  children  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  liberal 
education,  for  James  was  enrolled  as  a  pupil 
first  in  a  private  school,  then  in  the  grammar 
school  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
due  course  of  time  he  entered  the  University 
(1784),  receiving  the  honor  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts  with  the  Class  of  1787.  Three  years 
later  the  Master's  degree  was  conferred  in 
course.  He  began,  therefore,  his  academic 
life  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 

In  those  days  the  School  of  Medicine  in  the 
University  was  closely  allied  to  the  College; 
it  had  not  completely  severed  itself  from  the 
collegiate  work.  Hence,  it  was  natural  that 
Woodhouse  should  have  known  the  famous 
Doctor  Benjamin  Rush.  In  fact,  he  became 
his  student,  and  was  soon  deeply  attached  to 
his  preceptor,  whose  reputation  and  position 
in  the  medical  world  were  beyond  dispute. 
In  the  scientific  and  social  circles  of  those 
early  days  Rush  wielded  a  marvelous  influence, 


10  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

and  reigned  almost  supreme.  He  had  been 
of  that  brave  group  of  fifty -six  who  affixed 
their  signatures  to  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. He  was  a  striking,  outstanding 
character,  and  once  said: 

"Medicine  is  my  wife;  science  is  my  mistress; 
my  books  are  my  companions;  my  study  is  my 
grave;  here  I  lie  buried,  the  world  forgetting, 
by  the  world  forgot." 

Rush  had  been  under  the  instruction  of 
Joseph  Black  and  was  an  able  exponent  of  the 
doctrines  taught  by  that  renowned  Scotch 
teacher,  which  partly  explains  how  he  came 
to  be  the  first  occupant  of  the  Chair  of  Chemistry 
in  the  Medical  School  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  (1769). 

Woodhouse  evinced  a  decided  preference  for 
chemistry  very  early  in  life,  neglecting  often 
other  studies  that  he  might  engage  in  experi- 
mental work;  this,  and  the  knowledge  that 
Rush  was,  indeed,  an  eminent  scientist  as  well 
as  a  leader  in  strictly  medical  subjects,  influ- 
enced Woodhouse,  no  doubt,  in  his  decision 
to  place  himself  under  his  supervision  and 
preceptorship;  and  so  he  became  a  student  of 
medicine. 

In  1791,  however,  prior  to  the  completion 
of  his  medical  course,  he  determined  to  apply 
for  the  situation  of  surgeon  in  the  army,  then 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  11 

assembling  under  the  command  of  the  late 
General  St.  Clair,  and  destined  to  chastise  the 
Indians  on  our  frontiers,  who  had  committed 
repeated  murders  upon  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States;  and,  upon  the  resignation  of 
his  fellow  student,  Dr.  James  Mease,  who  had 
been  appointed  surgeon,  but  who  changed 
his  mind,  he  received  his  commission.  The 
horrors  of  that  campaign  have  been  often  given 
to  the  public.  Luckily,  Woodhouse  escaped 
the  dangers  of  the  dreadful  defeat  which  the 
United  States  troops  suffered  on  the  4th  of 
November  (1791),  having  been  ordered  to 
accompany  the  first  regiment  which  was  sent 
after  sixty  militia  deserters,  four  days  before 
the  battle,  and  to  meet  a  convoy  of  provisions 
which  was  daily  expected. 

During  his  military  service  communications 
passed  from  time  to  time  to  his  friend  and 
preceptor.  Some  of  these  have  been  discovered 
in  the  Rush  collections,  on  file  in  the  Ridgway 
Library.  They  are  intensely  interesting  be- 
cause, among  others,  they  give  evidence  of 
Woodhouse's  keen  desire  to  learn  everything 
possible  of  subjects  pertaining  to  his  profession. 

The  first  of  the  letters  was 


12  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

Addressed  to  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  in  Walnut 
Street  one  door  from  the 
corner  of  Third  Street 
Philadelphia 

and  reads  as  follows: 

CARLISLE,  May  27th  1791 
DEAR  SIR, 

It  was  with  some  difficulty  I  procured  a  small  quantity 
of  the  Poison  vine,  which  will  be  delivered  to  you  by  a 
waggoner  who  sets  off  from  this  place  in  a  few  days.  I 
have  enclosed  as  particular  an  account  of  it,  as  I  have 
been  able  to  collect,  if  you  think  it  is  worthy  a  place  in 
the  Museum  or  Magazine  you  will  oblige  me  by  pub- 
lishing it. 

If  I  have  anything  worth  communicating,  I  shall  write 
you  from  Pittsburgh,  I  am  Sir,  your  very 

humble  servant, 

JAMES  WOODHOUSE 
Dr  Benj.  Rush. 

The  sketch  of  the  poison  vine  referred  to 
follows : 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  EFFECTS  OF  THE  RHUS 
RADICANS  OR  POISON  VINE  IN  THE  CON- 
SUMPTION, BY  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"When  we  reflect  that  the  intermittent  fever  &  the 
venereal  diseases  were  once  as  incurable  as  the  consumption 
is  at  present,  we  have  every  reason  to  expect,  a  remedy 
may  be  found,  that  will  one  day  strike  off  the  latter  from 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  13 

the  list  of  those  diseases,  that  are  now  said  to  be  the 
reproach  of  medicine. 

"Before  my  arrival  at  this  place  I  heard  of  the  good 
effects  of  the  Poison  vine  in  consumption,  &  have  since 
had  the  good  fortune  of  hearing  the  report  confirmed  by 
the  patients  themselves — the  confidence  they  placed  in 
the  remedy  induced  me  to  inquire  particularly  into  its 
effects  and  publish  the  following  account  from  which  if 
any  person  gives  it  a  fair  trial,  &  it  is  found  to  fail,  I  can 
only  say,  it  will  add  to  the  numerous  medicines  that  have 
been  celebrated  for  a  day,  &  have  as  soon  fallen  into 
disrepute. 

"This  vine  is  found  in  the  woods  running  straight  up 
the  sides  of  trees,  &  grows  in  great  plenty  in  swampy 
ground  &  the  sides  of  creeks.  It  adheres  very  close  &  is 
with  difficulty  disengaged  from  the  trees.  It  is  estimated 
by  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  about  Carlisle  as  an 
effectual  remedy  in  the  consumption.  The  method  of 
using  it  is  to  scrape  off  the  external  bark,  cut  about  a 
handful  of  the  inner  bark  &  heart  of  the  vine  in  small 
pieces,  boil  them  in  a  quart  of  water  down  to  a  pint  of 
which  a  half  pint  is  to  be  taken  daily. 

"It  always  keeps  the  bowells  gently  open,  relieves  the 
pain  in  the  breast  &  in  two  cases  increased  the  secretion  of 
saliva  to  a  great  degree.  The  inner  bark  has  a  taste  con- 
siderably saccharine,  the  heart  of  the  vine  has  little  sen- 
sible effect  on  the  tongue,  if  any,  it  is  that  of  being  slightly 
astringent.  It  should  be  prepared  fresh  every  other  day 
as  it  ferments  by  keeping. 

"A  M™  Smith  near  the  blue  mountain,  a  W*  Elliott 
near  the  river  Juniatta,  have  been  perfectly  cured  by  it. 

"Jonathan  Foster,  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  is  asthmatic 
&  at  times  afflicted  with  a  pain  in  his  breast,  he  is  now 
using  the  poison  vine  &  experiences  great  relief  from  it. 


14  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"Hiram  Gardiner,  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  was  afflicted  with  a  pain  in  his  breast,  night 
sweats  &  tickling  cough,  he  was  said,  by  his  attending 
physicians  to  be  in  a  consumption,  &  by  his  own  account, 
they  could  do  nothing  for  him,  he  took  to  the  use  of  the 
Poison  vine,  &  by  persevering  in  the  use  of  it  for  a  con- 
siderable time  was  perfectly  cured. 

"He  now  works  at  his  trade  in  Carlisle,  &  is  ready  to 
relate  his  case  to  any  person  who  pleases  to  wait  upon  him. 

"I  am  informed  the  poison  vine  grows  in  great  plenty 
down  in  the  neck  near  Philadelphia." 

Carlisle  May  27th  1791 

CAMP  NEAR  FORT  PITT  July  19th  1791 
DEAR  DOCTOR, 

Having  an  opportunity  I  send  you  a  small  quantity  of 
the  extract  of  Poison  vine,  with  a  specimen  of  the  bark  of 
a  bitter  aromatic  vine,  which  grows  in  abundance  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio. 

Concerning  the  effects  of  the  Poison  vine  I  have  but 
one  fact  worth  communicating,  a  gentleman,  who  used  it  in 
the  consumption  had  an  eruption  produced  over  the  whole 
surface  of  the  body  &  and  was  perfectly  cured  by  it. 

The  aromatic  vine  is  not  generally  known  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Pittsburgh,  even  their  Physicians  are  unac- 
quainted with  its  virtues;  the  aroma  &  bitterness  resides 
altogether  in  the  external  bark,  the  internal  leaves 
scarcely  any  visible  effect  on  the  tongue. 

Major who  gave  me  the  first  information  con- 
cerning this  vine,  informed  me  Dr.  Thoa carried  a 

large  quantity  of  it  to  Europe;  unfortunately,  I  have  had 
near  fifty  weight  of  it  spoiled  in  drying.  I  shall  gather 
more  of  it  in  a  few  days  &  send  it  to  you  by  the  first 
opportunity. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  15 

Our  Hospital  at  present  is  a  large  Kentucky  boat 
anchored  in  the  Allegheny  River,  this  answers  three  good 
purposes — first — it  deprives  our  patients  of  the  use  of 
whiskey  which,  in  my  return  to  the  Contractor  I  have 
exchanged  for  vinegar  and  soap — secondly — it  prevents 
any  contagious  disease  from  spreading  in  the  camp  & 
thirdly — the  dread  of  going  to  the  boat  prevents  many 
from  making  imaginary  complaints. 

The  epidemic  which  prevails  at  present  is  the  Dysentery 
— blisters  to  the  wrists  after  the  fifth  day  never  fail  in 
giving  a  check  to  the  disease. 

On  the  4th  of  July  Brown  &  myself  were  called  to  an 
unfortunate  soldier,  who  had  the  metacarpal  &  part  of  the 
carpal  bones  carried  away  by  the  bursting  of  a  musquet — 
Brown  was  too  timid  to  attempt  the  operation — I  ampu- 
tated the  hand  at  the  wrist  in  the  presence  of  Col.  Gibson, 
the  officers  of  the  army  &  several  gentlemen  from  town. 
I  dress  him  twice  a  day  &  he  is  in  a  fair  way  for  recovering. 
I  have  a  patient  now  under  my  care,  with  the  symptoms 
of  a  Tetanus,  from  a  wound  which  he  received  five  weeks 
ago  across  the  tendons  of  the  fore  arm  in  attempting  to 
force  a  Sentinel;  he  complains  of  rigid  &  strong  contrac- 
tions of  the  muscles  of  the  neck;  used  the  mecurial  oint- 
ment to  his  jaw  &  have  given  him  as  much  bark  &  vine 
as  he  can  drink. 

When  I  mentioned  this  case,  in  the  presence  of  Gen. 
Butler,  Col.  Gibson  &  Major  Flodgrow,  one  of  them  said 
you  were  indebted  to  MacKnight  for  the  discovery — I 
attempted  to  convince  them  of  the  contrary,  &  informed 
them  of  the  certificate  you  receiv'd  from  Col.  Stone. 
^  Brown  is  acting  the  impostor — he  has  practiced  Physic 
inythe|East  Indies — was  offered  the  Professorship  of 
Botany  in  the  college  of  New  York  &  can  tell  the  genus 
&  species  of  a  Butterfly  flying.  By  such  little  arts  does 


16  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

he  attempt  to  support  the  little  reputation  he  has  gained, 
he  has  decieved  the  weak  &  the  ignorant,  but  men  of 
penetration  have  found  him   out.      Breckenridge   says 
"he  knows  too  much  to  know  anything." 
Sir, 

When  I  left  Philadelphia  I  understood  that  no  appoint- 
ment, higher  than  that  of  a  Surgeon's  Mate  was  to  take 
place  in  the  Medical  Department,  since  that  I  have  been 
informed  by  gentlemen  of  very  respectable  characters, 
that  new  arrangements  have  taken  place  &  a  Surgeon  is  to 
be  appointed  to  each  regiment.  I  have  written  to  Gen. 
Kiiox  for  the  appointment  you  will  confer  an  obligation 
on  me  by  waiting  upon  that  gentleman,  &  favouring  me 
with  a  letter  of  introduction,  to  General  Butler,  General 
Sinclair,  &  any  gentlemen  you  are  acquainted  with  in 
Pittsburgh.  The  Surgeon's  Mates  are  as  ignorant  as 
their  patients. 

We  have  no  news  concerning  the  Indians. 

Please  to  present  my  compliments    to  M™  Rush   & 
family  &  students  in  the  shop  &  believe  me  to  be 
Your  very 

Hble  Serv* 
Doctor  Benjn  Rush  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

CAMP  NEAR  FORT  PITT  August  10th  1791 
DEAR  DOCTOR, 

I  take  this  opportunity  of  sending  you  a  few  pounds  of 
the  aromatic  bark  I  promised  you  in  my  last  letter.  I 
have  enclosed  a  piece  of  the  vine  along  with  the  bark  as 
there  is  something  curious  in  its  structure,  being  spungy, 
and  at  the  same  time  pealing  into  many  layers. 

I  have  been  in  quest  of  the  cancer  root  said  to  have 
been  used  by  Dr.  Martin  &  am  now  trying  the  lobelia  as 
a  ? 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  17 

Brown  has  attempted  to  rob  you  of  your  discovery  of 
the  method  of  ?  Dropsius  (?),  he  told  me  he  was  of 
your  opinion  a  long  tune,  &  gave  you  the  first  hint — he 
expects  you  will  acknowledge  yourself  indebted  to  him 
when  you  publish — he  has  told  the  same  to  Dr  Bedford, 
who  means  to  speak  to  him  before  a  witness  &  write  to 
you  concerning  it. 

My  patient  who  had  the  lockjaw  is  perfectly  cured,  & 
my  respects  to  M™  Rush  &  the  gentlemen  in  the  shop 

I  am  yours,  etc. 

JAB.  WOODHOUSE 
Dr  Benj.  Rush 


The  curative  effect  of  the  poison  vine  in 
the  case  of  consumption  must  have  impressed 
Rush  profoundly.  He  had  himself  suffered 
from  the  "white  plague"  and  written  exten- 
sively upon  it  throughout  his  life,  for  he  had 
really  cured  himself. 

The  reputation  Rush  had  attained  in  the 
use  of  mercurial  preparations  was  so  great  that 
this  medicament  was  recognized  on  all  sides 
as  having  originated  with  him.  Probably  he 
smiled  complacently  on  learning  of  the  speeches 
of  Surgeon  Brown,  who  was  led  to  send  the 
following  cruel,  parting  blow  at  Woodhouse: 

FORT  WASHINGTON  Novr  18th  1791 
Woodhouse  has  behaved  so  ill  to  me,  that  had  it  not 
been  for  the  respect  I  have  for  you,  he  should  have  been 


18  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

sent  home  under  an  arrest,  he  was  fourty  miles  off  at  the 
time  of  the  battle  and  of  course  received  no  injury. 
(Letter  from  P.  Browne— Surgeon  2d  Reg.  U.  S.  to 
Dr.  Benj.  Rush) 


How  could  Woodhouse  have  participated  in 
the  battle  when  he  had  been  detailed  four  days 
earlier  to  attend  to  other  pressing  duties? 

On  the  return  of  Woodhouse  to  the  University, 
after  an  absence  of  four  months  from  Phila- 
delphia, his  medical  studies  were  promptly 
resumed,  and  in  May,  1792,  having  passed 
rigid  oral,  public  examinations  with  the  pre- 
sentation of  a  thesis,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  The  title  of 
his  inaugural  dissertation  was  On  the  Chemical 
and  Medical  Properties  of  the  Persimmon  Tree, 
and  the  Analysis  of  Astringent  Vegetables.  It  was 
encompassed  in  thirty-four  printed  octavo  pages. 
In  appearance  it  recalls  the  doctoral  theses 
of  the  German  universities.  His  father's  name 
appears  on  the  title  page  as  publisher. 

Much  importance  was  attached  to  these 
publications  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  Medical 
School  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Its 
library  contains  hundreds  of  such  efforts  at 
independent  research.  Indeed,  in  1805,  Cald- 
well  selected  twelve  of  these  inaugural  theses 
and  published  them  in  an  octavo  volume. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  19 

They  were  largely  experimental  in  character. 
It  was  contended  that  public  recognition  "must 
have  a  powerful  influence  on  the  minds  of  the 
students  in  their  endeavors  to  perfect  their 
dissertations,  and  thereby  render  them  worthy 
of  such  an  honorable  distinction."  This  plan 
was  pursued  for  several  years.  Many  of  the 
theses  were  exceedingly  meritorious.  To  this 
class  belonged  the  dissertation  of  Woodhouse, 
which  was  "dedicated  as  a  grateful  tribute 
of  respect"  to  Benjamin  Rush,  who  in  turn 
was  pleased  to  write  Woodhouse: 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND: 

I  beg  you  would  permit  me,  to  make  use  of  a  small 
part  of  a  page,  of  your  inaugural  publication,  on  the 
Persimmon  Tree,  and  the  Analysis  of  astringent  vegetables, 
as  the  vehicle  of  my  acknowledgements,  of  the  great 
pleasure  I  derived,  from  witnessing  the  zeal  and  industry, 
with  which  you  conducted  the  experiments  and  studies, 
that  have  led  you  to  the  valuable  discoveries,  contained 
in  your  dissertation.  I  hope  your  success  in  those  experi- 
ments, will  animate  you  to  direct  your  inquiries  into  other 
branches  of  Chemistry  and  Medicine,  and  that  your 
eminence  and  usefulness  in  life  may  be  equal  to  the 
ability  and  integrity  with  which  you  have  discharged 
your  duty  to  your 

Affectionate  Preceptor, 

BENJAMIN  RUSH 
May  3rd,  1792. 

In  the  introductory  remarks  Woodhouse  tells 


20  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

that  he  chose  the  Persimmon  tree  for  a  thesis 
because  "he  wished  on  the  one  hand  to  avoid 
a  thread-bare,  worn  out  subject"  and  on  the 
other  that  he  might  have  "an  opportunity  of 
saying  something  on  a  tree,  of  which,  little 
more  is  known  than  the  name."  He  acknowl- 
edges also  that  he  is  "as  yet,  a  Tyro  in  Chem- 
istry." 

The  history  of  the  tree  is  given  and  then 
attention  is  directed  to  the  expressed  juice 
of  the  unripe  fruit,  a  substance  of  a  singular 
nature.  Seventeen  different  experiments  were 
made  upon  it  and  commented  upon  by  Wood- 
house  in  these  words: 

"From  the  first  of  these  experiments,  it 
appears,  that  the  juice  of  the  Persimmon, 
contains  the  same  acid,  as  all  astringent  vege- 
tables; and  from  the  second,  we  find  it  may 
be  employed,  as  a  nice  test,  for  detecting  the 
presence  of  iron,  in  mineral  waters.  In  the 
third,  it  decomposed  the  iron,  separating  its 
principle  of  inflammability.  In  the  fifth,  we 
find  a  large  quantity,  of  a  transparent,  brown, 
astringent  gummy  substance  produced,  which 
from  some  of  the  succeeding  experiments, 
appears  to  be  a  gum-resin,  with  a  proportion 
of  excrementitious  matter.  The  resin  is  a 
mild  substance,  generally  containing  a  small 
proportion  of  the  acid,  and  may  be  separated 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  21 

from  the  gum,  by  precipitating  the  basis  of 
the  astringent,  by  the  vegetable  or  volatile 
alkali,  filtering  the  solution,  and  adding  the 
marine  or  vitriolic  acids.  The  gum  is  com- 
posed of  the  gallic  acid,  and  the  astringent 
basis,  which  is  earth  of  alum. 

"The  property  of  forming  a  saline  gum, 
with  the  earth  of  alum,  is  not  peculiar  to  the 
gallic  acid.  The  distilled  acid  of  sugar,  accord- 
ing to  Schrickel,  and  the  acid  of  tartar,  have 
the  same  effect  on  that  earth.*  A  gum  resin 
appears  to  exist  in  almost  every  vegetable, 
which  has  the  property  of  striking  black,  with 
the  solutions  of  iron,  differing  in  the  degree 
of  solubility,  in  different  menstrua,  and  in  the 
proportion  of  gum  and  resin.  It  constitutes 
the  astringent  and  bitter  quality  in  peruvian 
bark,  it  may  be  extracted  from  the  leaves  and 
bark  of  the  Persimmon,  galls  yield  it  to  a  watery 
menstruum,  in  the  proportion  of  four  drachms 
to  the  ounce,  and  it  may  be  obtained,  in  con- 
siderable quantities,  from  the  common  pig-nut. 

"Morveau  supposes  the  acid  in  astringents, 
is  formed  of  this  resin  and  pure  air.  The  twelfth 
experiment  clearly  confutes  this  opinion,  for 
the  resin  is  there  seen,  in  large  transparent 
globules,  when  the  iron,  the  ponderous  earth, 
and  the  mercury  were  precipitated  by  the  acid. 

•  Heir's  Chemical  Dictionary,  article,  acid  of  tartar  and  sugar. 


22  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"To  succeed  in  this  experiment,  with  galls, 
and  other  astringents,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
a  strong  infusion  of  them,  for  it  does  not  take 
place,  after  the  resin  has  been  extracted  by  one 
or  two  infusions,  altho'  the  astringency  remains. 

"The  precipitate  formed,  by  adding  the 
alkalies,  to  vegetable  astringents,  has  been 
mistaken  by  some  authors  for  the  astringent 
principle.  In  Keir's  chemical  Dictionary,  and 
in  the  last  edition  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Brit- 
tanica,  a  number  of  observations  may  be  seen, 
relating  to  this  principle.  It  is  there  said,  when 
redissolved  in  water,  it  blackened  a  solution  of 
vitriol  but  faintly,  and  in  no  other  manner, 
than  what  arose,  from  a  small  quantity  of  acid 
remaining,  which  is  proved  it  contains  by  distil- 
ling it.  The  author  of  these  observations  has 
been  mistaken,  and  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter, 
to  point  out  in  what  manner  he  has  been  de- 
ceived. The  astringent  taste  arose  from  a 
quantity  of  acid,  which  he  acknowledges  it 
contains,  its  solubility  in  water,  arose  from  the 
same  cause,  for  after  it  is  several  times  washed, 
and  the  water  filtered,  it  does  not  blacken  a 
solution  of  vitriol,  but  when  diffused  in  water, 
and  added  to  a  solution  of  that  salt,  the  color 
is  immediately  changed,  for  its  solubility  in 
water,  like  alum  and  the  calcareous  phosphat 
of  urine,  is  owing  to  a  superabundant  acid. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  23 

"  When  spread  with  a  feather,  over  an  ancient, 
decayed  writing,  it  restored  the  legibility  of  the 
letters.  Various  methods  have  been  recom- 
mended, by  different  authors,  for  this  purpose; 
among  others,  the  distilled  liquor  of  galls,  in 
Caneparious's  collection  de  atramentis,  and 
the  phlogisticated  alkali,  by  Dr.  Blagden,  in 
the  Philosophical  transactions,  for  the  year, 
1787.  The  unripe  juice  of  the  Persimmon, 
possesses  two  advantages  over  these  fluids; 
it  is  a  more  powerful  test  for  detecting  the 
presence  of  iron,  and  forms  a  gummy  resinous 
coat  over  the  letters,  defending  them  forever, 
against  the  action  of  air  and  moisture. 

"The  matter  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
astringent  juice  and  steel  filings,  and  the  pre- 
cipitated fsecula  of  green  vitriol,  possesses  the 
same  properties. 

"The  twelfth,  and  following  experiments, 
naturally  lead  us  to  say  a  few  words,  on  the 
changes  which  take  place,  in  the  precipitates 
of  iron,  by  the  vegetable  astringents. 

"On  this  subject,  Messieurs  Macquer,  Mon- 
net,  Gianotti  and  the  academicians  of  Dijon, 
have  been  particularly  engaged.  The  two 
former,  and  the  greater  part  of  chemists,  con- 
sider the  precipitate  of  ink,  to  be  united  with 
a  principle  in  the  gall-nut,  in  an  oily  state. 
Mr.  Gianotti  thought,  that  the  iron  was  united 


24  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

with  the  astringent  principle;  and  that  it 
was  in  the  state  of  a  neutral  salt.  The  gentle- 
men of  the  academy  of  Dijon,  suppose  the 
astringents  direct  their  action  to  the  vitriolic 
acid,  and  precipitate  the  iron  pure. 

"My  experiments  have  induced  me  to  draw 
a  different  conclusion,  from  those  gentlemen. 
I  have  clearly  proved,  that  a  neutral  salt 
exists  readily  formed  in  astringent  vegetables, 
composed  of  a  peculiar  acid  and  the  earth  of 
alum,  independent  of  a  resin,  which  most  of 
them  contain. 

"In  the  making  of  ink  then,  a  double  elective 
attraction  takes  place;  the  gallic  acid  unites 
with  the  iron  of  green  vitriol,  while  the  vitriolic 
acid  unites  with  the  earth  of  alum.  In  an 
acid  solution  of  green  vitriol,  no  precipitate 
happens,  because  the  vitriolic  dissolves  the  iron 
as  salt,  as  it  is  precipitated;  but,  if  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  an  alkali  is  added,  to  saturate  the 
vitriolic  acid,  the  precipitate  remains  suspended 
in  the  liquor;  still  continue  to  add  the  alkali, 
and  you  saturate  both  the  gallic  and  the  vitriolic 
acid,  and  the  iron  is  precipitated,  of  a  dirty 
color. 

"This  theory  points  out  the  necessity  of 
having  a  vitriol,  exactly  saturated  with  acid, 
in  the  making  of  ink:  the  propriety  of  adding 
a  small  quantity  of  the  vegetable  alkali  or 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  25 

steel  filings,  to  the  common  ink  powder  of  the 
shops,  and  the  improper  practice  which  some 
people  have,  of  using  vinegar  as  a  menstruum, 
to  extract  its  virtues. 

"It  shows  the  propriety  of  Mr.  Clegg's  pro- 
posal, for  employing  vegetable  alkali,  as  a 
substitute  for  verdigise  in  the  black  dye,  for 
which  he  received  a  silver  medal  and  ten  guineas, 
from  a  society  instituted  in  London,  for  the 
encouragement  of  arts  and  manufacturers,  in 
the  year  1783. 

"It  accounts  for  the  phenomena,  which 
happened  in  a  number  of  experiments  made 
by  Drs.  Skeets  and  Irwin,  in  which  magnesia, 
lime,  chalk  and  the  alkalies  were  triturated 
with  peruvian  bark,  and  added  to  a  solution 
of  green  vitriol;  and  which  Irwin  accounted 
for,  by  supposing  the  presence  of  fixed  air. 

"The  fallacy,  of  triturating  astringent  gum 
resins,  with  different  substances,  and  adding 
them  to  a  solution  of  green  vitriol,  and  making 
the  intensity  of  the  color  struck,  a  proof  of 
the  strength  of  the  solvent  power,  is  here 
pointed  out. 

"It  explains  the  reason,  why  in  the  precipi- 
tates of  iron  by  the  nut-gall,  the  coalition  of 
particles  is  successive,  and  remains  suspended 
in  the  fluid,  and  why  in  the  uva  ursi,  the  pig- 
nut, and  the  Persimmon,  they  concrete  together, 


26  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

in  large  particles,  and  fall  to  the  bottom  of  the 
vessel.  In  the  first  case,  the  resin  being  con- 
tained in  a  small  quantity,  and  united  to  a 
portion  of  the  acid,  is  readily  soluble  in  water; 
in  the  second  case,  the  resin  is  contained  in  a 
large  proportion,  and  is  insoluble  in  water. 

"It  likewise  explains  to  us  the  cause  of 
increased  blackness  of  ink,  in  the  common 
practice  which  school  boys  have  of  adding 
chalk,  lime,  &c.,  to  the  fluid. 

"The  doctrine  of  astringents,  serves  as  a 
key  to  many  of  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Percival, 
and  accounts  for  the  manner  in  which  acids 
neutralize  astringents ;  by  destroying  the  affinity 
between  gallic  acid,  and  the  earth  of  alum. 

"In  short,  it  simplifies  the  Materia  Medica, 
it  is  an  interesting  addition  of  chemistry,  and 
in  future  it  is  probable,  the  whole  catalogue 
of  astringents  will  yield  to  one  or  two  of  the 
most  powerful,  and  the  author  queries,  whether 
even  the  peruvian  bark,  will  not  give  place, 
to  the  more  powerful  combination,  of  galls 
and  gentian,  or  the  Persimmon  and  centaury. 

"The  acid  of  galls,  forming  an  ink  with 
green  vitriol,  may  be  offered  as  an  objection 
to  this  theory,  and  it  may  be  asked,  why  does 
not  the  vitriolic  acid,  in  this  case,  dissolve 
the  iron?  The  answer  to  this  question  is  easy, 
the  vitriolic  acid  is  too  weak  to  act  on  the 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  27 

iron,  and  an  ink  made  in  this  manner,  though 
at  first  of  a  deep  black  colour,  yet  is  not  durable." 


After  describing  the  resin  or  rather  the  method 
of  getting  it  for  pharmaceutical  purposes,  Wood- 
house  discusses  its  efficacy  in  medicine  for 
fevers,  for  hemorrhoids,  for  dysentery,  for 
diabetes,  for  "spungy,  swelled  gums  and  loose 
teeth,"  for  "stone  in  the  urinary  passages," 
and  for  chronic  ulcers,  indicating  also  its  use 
in  the  arts  under  the  following  heads: 

1.  IN  THE  TANNING  OF  LEATHER 

"The  greater  the  quantity  of  resin  con- 
tained in  any  vegetable  astringent,  the  greater 
the  ease  with  which  the  leather  may  be  impreg- 
nated with  it,  and  its  greater  degree  of  insolu- 
bility in  water  afterwards,  so  much  the  more 
valuable  is  it,  in  this  important  branch  of 
manufacturers. 

"The  use  of  tanning,  says  Dr.  Macbride, 
is  to  prevent  the  leather  from  rotting,  and 
to  render  it  impervious  to  water.  Any  astringent 
vegetable  substance,  is  powerful  enough  to 
accomplish  the  first  purpose,  but  to  render 
the  leather  impervious  to  water,  requires  one 
containing  a  large  proportion  of  gummy  resinous 
matter. 


28  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"The  superiority  of  oak  bark  over  other 
astringents,  is  owing  to  this  property.  The 
famous  essence  of  this  substance,  is  no  more 
than  an  extract  made  by  infusion,  and  was 
first  proposed  as  a  substitute  for  oak  bark, 
in  a  memoir  delivered  to  the  Bath  Society, 
in  the  year  1773. 

"The  unripe  juice  of  the  Persimmon,  pro- 
vided it  could  be  obtained  in  sufficient  quan- 
tities, and  for  a  price  which  would  not  greatly 
enhance  the  value  of  leather,  must  be  prefer- 
able to  oak  bark,  for  reasons  evident  to  every 
chemical  mind. 

"Allowing  every  tree  to  produce  four  bushels 
of  fruit,  though  Mr.  Bartram  says,  he  has  seen 
some  which  produce  six,  and  suppose  three 
hundred  of  these  trees  cultivated;  the  quantity 
of  gum  resin  which  would  be  produced,  would 
be  1800  pounds,  as  I  have  ascertained  by 
experiment,  computing  six  pounds  to  a  tree. 
The  quantity  of  juice  would  be  several  hundred 
gallons,  which  might  be  kept  in  barrels  till 
wanted  for  use. 

"North  Carolina  is  the  only  state,  in  which 
the  Persimmon  is  cultivated;  it  is  a  common 
practice  there  to  ingraft  it  on  the  apple,  by 
which  means  the  rapidity  of  its  growth  is 
greatly  increased. 

"When    we    oppose    the    cleanliness    of    the 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  29 

process,  if  the  Persimmon  could  be  used,  the 
strength  of  the  astringent,  the  small  number 
of  hands  required,  the  small  capital  to  begin 
and  little  labour  requisite  to  carry  on  the 
business,  the  trifling  piece  of  ground  which  a 
tan-yard  would  occupy,  the  value  of  the  leather 
and  shortness  of  time  necessary  to  finish  it; 
to  the  large  capital  at  present  required,  the 
number  of  hands  employed,  the  quantity  of 
labour,  the  immense  loads  of  bark,  the  annual 
expense  of  a  horse  and  price  of  instruments 
to  grind  it,  and  the  length  of  time  necessary 
to  finish  the  leather,  we  may  conclude,  the 
experiment  is  well  worthy  the  attention  of 
some  philosophical  tanner. 


2.    As  AN  INGREDIENT  IN  THE  BLACK  DYE 

"The  black  dye  in  common  use,  is  no  more 
than  an  ink,  made  by  adding  a  vegetable 
astringent  to  a  solution  of  green  vitriol,  altho* 
realgar,  antimony,  litharge,  arsenic,  orpiment 
and  other  substances  have  been  added  to  the 
ingredients. 

"In  the  Swedish  transactions  for  the  year 
1753,  a  fine  black  is  said  to  be  dyed,  with  the 
leaves  of  the  uva  ursi,  the  black  matter  con- 
cretes together  in  large  particles,  which  is 
supposed  to  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  black 


30  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

dye,  as  the  largeness  of  the  colouring  particles, 
which  concrete  in  the  pores  of  the  cloth,  may 
render  them  more  fixed,  consequently  less  of  the 
colouring  matter  is  wasted  in  the  liquor.  To 
this  cause,  says  Dr.  Lewis,  may  be  attributed 
a  quality  of  the  uva  ursi  dye,  mentioned  by 
the  Swedish  author,  that  the  cloth  is  cleaner, 
than  after  the  other  black  dyes,  or  requires 
less  washing  to  free  it  from  the  loose  colour. 

"The  juice  of  the  Persimmon,  precipitates 
iron  in  the  same  manner  as  the  uva  ursi,  in 
large  particles,  which  fall  to  the  bottom  of  the 
vessel.  I  have  dyed  silk  with  an  ink  made 
of  this  substance,  which  was  as  black,  and 
bore  washing  as  well,  as  that  dyed  with  galls, 
logwood,  and  fifty  other  ingredients. 

"It  is  astonishing  to  think,  an  exorbitant 
price  is  still  paid  for  galls  and  logwood,  when 
bushels  of  a  substitute  superior  to  either,  may 
be  had  for  the  trouble  of  carrying  them  away. 


3.    IN  THE  MAKING  OF  INK 

"The  great  defect  in  an  ink,  made  from 
the  juice  of  the  Persimmon,  is  that,  the  pre- 
cipitated iron,  concretes  together  in  large  par- 
ticles, and  falls  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel; 
this  takes  place  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
in  every  precipitate  of  iron,  by  a  vegetable 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  31 

astringent.  In  some  inks  this  circumstance 
may  be  prevented  by  the  addition  of  gum 
arabic,  and  the  colouring  matter  kept  sus- 
pended in  the  fluid;  I  have  attempted  it  in 
vain,  in  ink  made  from  the  Persimmon,  the 
letters  always  appearing  as  if  written  by  char- 
coal diffused  in  water.  An  ink  has  likewise 
been  made  from  the  precipitated  iron  mixed 
with  water,  and  kept  suspended  by  the  addition 
of  gum  arabic;  when  made  in  this  manner, 
tho'  it  is  durable,  yet  the  letters  may  be  washed 
off  from  the  paper  as  easily  as  if  written  with 
any  black  powder  diffused  in  water. 

"In  the  latter  end  of  October,  and  in  Novem- 
ver,  the  astringent  gum  of  the  Persimmon, 
is  converted  into  a  sweet  nutritious  substance, 
which  remains  on  the  trees  'till  January,  and 
serves  as  food  to  squirrels,  rabbits,  raccoons, 
and  other  animals. 

"The  manner  in  which  this  change  is  pro- 
duced, would  lead  to  an  inquiry,  as  curious 
as  it  would  be  useful.  It  appears  to  be  a 
process,  analogous  to  a  mortification  in  the 
extremities  of  the  human  body,  and  brought 
on  by  the  same  cause.  An  extinction  of  life, 
from  a  languid  circulation,  caused  by  the 
debilitating  power  of  cold.  In  what  manner 
this  quality  acts,  in  producing  a  decomposi- 
tion, is  difficult  to  determine:  the  constituent 


32  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

principles  appear  not  to  be  changed,  they  are 
only  modified;  the  gum  resin  is  principally 
composed  of  acid,  oil,  earth  and  water:  the 
ripe  fruit  contains  the  same  principles,  and 
even  when  changed  into  a  vinous  liquor  and 
distilled,  the  composition  is  still  acid,  oil,  and 
water.  Here  we  must  rest  satisfied  with  the 
fact,  for  it  is  not  the  business  of  Chemistry, 
to  wander  in  the  boundless  regions  of  conjec- 
ture. Perhaps  some  future  experiments,  may 
throw  light  on  this  mysterious  process,  which 
at  present  only  proves,  that  nature  herself 
is  a  great  Chemist. 


4.    To  MAKE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  PERSIMMON 

"For  this  purpose  a  certain  quantity  of 
water  is  to  be  added  to  the  Persimmon  when 
ripe,  and  the  whole  put  into  a  proper  vessel 
to  which  a  certain  quantity  of  yeast  is  to  be 
added,  to  promote  a  fermentation.  Every 
bushel  of  fruit  treated  in  this  manner,  will 
yield  one  gallon  of  spirit,  of  an  agreeable  flavour. 
If  beer  is  preferred  to  spirit,  the  fruit  boiled 
in  water,  which  is  afterwards  strained,  and 
set  to  ferment;  hops  are  then  added  to  prevent 
the  fermentation  from  proceeding  too  far,  and 
it  is  bottled  for  use. 

"Those    who    would    wish    to    collect    large 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  33 

quantities  of  the  fruit  for  distillation,  may 
consult  a  memoir  published  by  Mr.  Bartram, 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Transactions." 


5.    To  MAKE  PERSIMMON  BREAD 

"When  freed  from  the  stones,  they  are  to 
be  mixed  with  flour  as  potatoes  generally  are 
and  baked  in  the  same  manner.  Bread  when 
made  in  this  way,  is  not  only  very  nutritious, 
but  has  the  advantage  of  economy  to  recom- 
mend it." 


The  very  critical  person  will  doubtless  have 
smiled  on  perusing  this  maiden  production 
of  Woodhouse — but  the  period,  the  general 
knowledge  of  chemical  substances  at  the  time, 
the  state  of  our  own  country  must  be  con- 
templated before  hastily  and  testily  consigning 
the  dissertation  to  the  waste-paper  basket. 
It  represents  a  beginning  and,  from  the  best 
information  at  hand,  it  was  a  most  serious 
beginning.  Let  it  then  rather  be  viewed  as  a 
pioneer  step  and  let  the  student  of  the  present 
rejoice  that  as  early  as  1792  the  spirit  of  research 
was  abroad  in  the  infant  Republic  and  that  men 
were  striving  to  discover  the  truth.  They  gave 
themselves  whole-heartedly  to  their  pursuits. 


34  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

One  pauses  on  reading  the  contributions 
of  the  early  alchemists  and  endeavors  to  put 
himself  in  their  place  and  to  recall  their  aims; 
but  this  is  easier  of  accomplishment  in  the 
instance  of  Woodhouse's  work,  performed  long 
after,  but  yet  in  a  period  still  quite  distant 
from  the  present — for  it  all  occurred  in  the 
closing  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century  and 
in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Shortly  after  graduation  in  medicine,  Wood- 
house  (1792)  conveyed  a  considerable  portion 
of  land  in  Northumberland  County  to  his 
former  preceptor  for  a  very  nominal  sum. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether  this 
was  out  of  gratitude  for  the  many  kindnesses 
shown  him  by  Dr.  Rush,  or  whether  it  may 
have  been  in  the  nature  of  a  fee  for  the  pre- 
ceptorial privileges  enjoyed  under  his  patron. 

A  copy  of  the  deed  follows.  It  was  dis- 
covered among  letters  and  documents  of  Rush 
mentioned  on  page  11. 

"Know  all  men  by  these  Presents,  that  I  James  Wood- 
house  for  and  in  Consideration  of  the  Sum  of  five  shillings 
to  me  in  hand,  well  and  truly  paid  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush 
the  Receipt  whereof  I  do  hereby  acknowledge;  and  for 
other  good  causes  and  valuable  Considerations  me  there- 
unto moving,  have  granted,  bargained,  sold,  released, 
assigned,  conveyed,  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  Presents 
do  grant,  bargain,  sell,  release,  assign,  convey,  and  con- 
firm unto  the  said  Dr  Benf1  Rush  his  Heirs,  Executors, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  85 

Administrators  and  Assigns  for  ever,  all  my  Right,  Title, 
Interest,  Property,  Claim,  and  Demand  whatsoever,  of, 
in,  and  to  a  certain  Warrant,  by  me  obtained  out  of  the 
Land  office  for  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 
bearing  date  for  the  Quantity  of 

four  hundred  Acres  of  Land  (be  they  more  or  less)  on  the 
waters  of  Loyal  Creek  on  North*  County  —  adjoining  land 
granted  April  9th  1792  to  James  Mease  and  likewise  all  my 
Right,  Title,  Interest,  Property,  Claim  or  Demand  what- 
soever, of,  in,  and  to  any  Return  that  is  or  may  be  made 
on  the  said  Warrant,  or  of,  in,  and  to  the  Patent  or  any 
Part  or  Parcel  of  the  said  four  hundred  Acres  of  Land 
patent,  located,  surveyed,  or  to  be  patent,  located,  or 
surveyed,  or  held  in  Pursuance  of  the  said  warrant  with 
all  of  the  Appurtenances  thereunto  belonging,  to  the  only 
proper  Use  and  Behoof  of  the  said  Doctor  Benjamin 
Rush — his  Heirs,  Executors,  Administrators  and  Assigns 
for  ever,  under  the  Reservations  to  the  Commonwealth 
of  Pennsylvania  due,  or  to  become  due,  therefore  and 
other  Charges  and  Taxes  on  the  said  Warrant  or  Land,  to 
be  paid  at  the  Cost  and  Charge  of  the  said  Doctor  Benjamin 
Rush — his  Executors,  Administrators  or  Assigns:  and  I 
the  said  James  Woodhouse  for  myself,  my  Heirs,  Executors, 
and  Administrators,  shall  and  will  at  any  and  all  time  or 
times  hereafter,  upon  the  reasonable  Request  and  Cost  of 
the  said  DT  Benjamin  Rush — his  Heirs,  Executors,  or 
Assigns,  make,  do,  and  Execute,  Acknowledge  and 
Deliver  or  cause  to  be  done  all  and  every  such  further 
and  other  Conveyances  and  Assurances  in  the  Law  for 
the  better  granting  and  conveying  the  said  Land  and 
Premises  with  all  the  Appurtenances  unto  the  said 
Dr  Benjamin  Rush  Heirs,  Executors,  Administrators,  or 
Assigns  as  by  his  Council  learned  in  the  Law  shall  be 
devised,  advised,  or  required.  IN  WITNESS  whereof 


36  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

I  have  hereunto  set  my  Hand  and  Seal,  this  twenty-fifth 
Day  of  May  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  Thousand  Seven 
Hundred  and  ninety  two. 
Signed,  Sealed 

and  delivered 

.,iD  ?  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

in  the  Presance 

of 

WARNER  WASHINGTON  JUN* 

JN°  P.  HALL 

Received  the  25th  Day  of  May  the  Sum  of  five  shillings 
being  in  full,  for  the  consideration  Money  above  men- 
tioned. 

Witness  JAMES  WOODHOUSB 

JN°  F.  STALL 

And  on  the  inside  page  of  this  deed,  there  is 
written : 

"For  a  valuable  consideration  which  I  hereby  acknowl- 
edge to  have  received,  I  do  hereby  assign  &  transfer  to 
Joseph  Priestley  Junr  all  my  right,  title,  interest,  claim  & 
demand  whatever  to  the  anexed  deed  poll  or  instrument 
of  writing.  In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set 
my  hand  &  seal  this  18  of  February  1794. 

BENJAMIN  RUSH 
Witnesses  present 
EDW"  FISHER 
ABBY  STOCKTON 

On  the  20th  day  of  February  1794  came  before  me 
Rob*  Martin  Justice  of  peace  hi  the  county  of  Northd 
Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  &  acknowledged  the  above  assign- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  37 

ment  or  transfer  to  be  his  Act,  and  deed  &  desired  it 
might  be  recorded  as  such.    Witness  my  hand  &  seal 

ROBT  MARTIN 


Joseph  Priestley,  Jr.,  came  to  America  some 
years  prior  to  the  arrival  of  his  father.  He 
and  other  Englishmen  had  traversed  consider- 
able portions  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
in  search  of  a  site  suitable  for  an  English  com- 
munity— sufficiently  removed  from  other  pioneer 
settlements.  Such  a  spot  was  found  on  the 
North  branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River  in 
Northumberland  County,  but  in  some  mysteri- 
ous way  the  scheme  failed,  and  Priestley,  the 
younger,  sought  a  home  for  himself.  The 
conveyance,  just  cited,  shows  clearly  his  final 
decision,  and  it  was  on  that  site  that  he  later 
received  his  father,  who,  when  in  Philadelphia 
in  1794,  showed  such  eagerness  to  reach  North- 
umberland, conscious  that  a  home  was  awaiting 
him  there.  Little  did  "the  honest  old  heretic" 
realize  or  suspect  that  in  this  new  home  he 
would  prosecute  the  cause  of  phlogiston  on 
territory  once  owned  by  young  Woodhouse 
who,  in  a  few  short  years,  was  to  become  one 
of  his  most  ardent  opponents. 

One  wonders  whether  having  become  a  medical 
doctor,  yet  possessed  of  such  great  love  for 


38  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

Chemistry,  Woodhouse  would  devote  himself 
to  medical  practice  or  to  chemical  pursuits. 
It  has  been  said  that  "after  his  graduation 
he  confined  almost  his  entire  attention  to 
Chemistry."  This  seems  correct,  but  he  did 
do  some  medical  work,  for  on  March  16,  1792, 
he  reported  a  case  of  Hydrocephalus  in  which 
he  remarked: 

"Future  experiments  and  observations  must 
determine,  whether  bleeding  is  preferable  to 
the  common  method  of  treating  the  hydro- 
cephalus  .  .  .  altho'  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  the  propriety  of  bleeding  in  preventing 
disease." 

Again,  on  September  1,  1792,  he  wrote  of 
the  case  of  an  infant  of  five  years — that  it  was 
originally  remitting  fever  "which  terminated 
in  hydrocephalus,  proves  the  fallacy  of  the 
symptom  of  worms,  and  confirms  the  idea  of 
Butler,  that  the  worm  fever  of  authors,  is  no 
other  than  the  infantile  remitting  fever." 


One  of  the  popular  agencies  for  the  encour- 
agement of  chemical  studies  in  the  infancy  of 
our  Republic  was  the  Chemical  Society  of 
Philadelphia.  It  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  a 
wide  circle  of  specialists. 

A    great    deal   has    been    said    regarding   it. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  39 

It  is  certain  that  it  was  a  very  serious  under- 
taking on  the  part  of  its  supporters,  that  it 
promoted  research  in  every  possible  way,  en- 
couraging its  membership  by  all  means  in  its 
power  to  have  the  Society  become  a  vehicle 
of  bringing  to  the  country  the  latest  and  most 
useful  information  on  chemical  subjects. 

It  must  have  been  a  source  of  pride  to  Wood- 
house,  for  he  conceived  it  and  was  the  real 
founder  of  the  Society — the  first  Chemical 
Society  in  the  world.  Its  stated  meetings 
were  held  weekly  in  the  Philadelphia  Laboratory 
in  Anatomical  Hall.  It  was  constantly  advising 
the  citizens  of  its  desire  and  readiness  to  aid 
them  and,  therefore,  requested  that  all  objects 
requiring  analysis  should  be  promptly  sent 
them.  Annual  lectures  of  considerable  impor- 
tance were  delivered  before  it.  In  the  address 
of  one  of  its  Vice-Presidents  flattering  reference 
is  made  to  Woodhouse — its  founder,  its  first 
and  only  President — in  these  words: 

"I  must  notice  .  .  .  in  our  worthy  President, 
that  science  has  not  only  gained  a  strenuous 
vindicator  of  its  doctrines,  but  also  a  liberal 
inquirer  after  truth,  an  elegant  and  successful 
experimenter." 

In  all  this  there  is  sufficient  evidence  that 
Chemistry  claimed  Woodhouse's  serious  thought. 
Presumably,  he  used  medicine  to  obtain  the 


40  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

means  necessary  to  prosecute  his  purely  chemical 
studies.  He  was  surely  a  devotee  of  the  science, 
as  indicated  by  his  introductory  words  on 
facing  an  audience  on  one  occasion: 

"Let  Miss  Chemistry  be  your  only  mistress 
— the  only  object  of  your  devotion  and  homage." 

To  revert,  briefly,  to  the  Chemical  Society: 
There  is  abundant  evidence  that  under  the 
inspiring  presidency  of  Woodhouse  it  made 
praiseworthy  contributions  and  was  most  favor- 
ably regarded  throughout  the  Republic.  For 
example,  the  American  Mineralogical  Society 
(New  York),  modeled  after  the.  Chemical 
Society,  announced  that  the  older  Society 
had  "laudably  set  the  example  it  hoped  to 
imitate  by  soliciting  information  upon  the 
resources  of  our  Country"  and  that  it  was 
especially  helpful  in  furnishing  at  least  "one 
article  of  great  national  importance."  In 
glancing  through  the  publication  (The  Weekly 
Magazine,  2  (1798),  pp.  329  and  374)  describ- 
ing the  article,  the  thought  suggested  itself 
that  the  contribution  possessed  an  appropriate- 
ness for  the  reader  of  the  present,  when  the 
chemists  of  our  country  are  so  largely  engaged 
in  caring  for  the  national  defence.  Their 
representatives  in  the  days  of  Woodhouse  also, 
inspired  by  lofty  patriotism,  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  interests  of  the  country,  and  we 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  4 

can  but  admire  their  zeal  and  be  grateful  for 
their  achievements,  however  humble  their  char- 
acter. The  Society  had  made  a  public  request 
that  "any  person  who  may  possess  informa- 
tion relative  to  the  manufacturing  of  nitre 
forward  it  to  them."  In  answer  to  the  inquiry 
there  came  this  reply: 

"In  the  present  critical  situation  of  our  coun- 
try few  subjects  claim  a  more  serious  attention 
than  those  which  essentially  contribute  to  its 
defence.  We  may  erect  fortifications  and 
procure  ordnance,  but  if  we  are  not  provided 
with  ammunition  our  guns  will  be  useless  and 
our  forts  of  little  consequence.  From  these 
considerations  a  few  hints  on  nitre,  and  the 
best  means  of  manufacturing  it  in  America 
may  be  offered. 

"Nitre  is  well  known  to  be  the  basis  of 
gun-powder,  a  substance  of  indispensable  neces- 
sity even  in  defensive  war.  At  present  we 
depend  almost  wholly  upon  foreign  countries 
for  this  article:  our  navigation  is  already  much 
impaired  and  if  actual  war  should  take  place 
the  difficulty  of  obtaining  nitre  would  be 
encreased  so  greatly  that  it  might  not  be 
possible  to  procure  sufficient  quantities  from 
abroad  to  answer  the  immense  expenditure 
which  must  necessarily  ensue. 

"Most  governments  have  paid  attention  to 


42  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

the  sources  from  whence  nitre  may  be  obtained 
and  in  general  their  researches  have  been 
crowned  with  success.  There  is  scarcely  a 
part  of  the  inhabited  globe  where  this  salt 
may  not  be  made.  In  some  countries  it  is 
collected  with  very  little  trouble  or  expence 
while  in  others  much  attention  is  necessary 
to  procure  it  even  at  considerable  cost  and, 
as  it  has  generally  been  managed,  great  incon- 
venience to  the  inhabitants.  In  England  for- 
merly and  in  France,  now,  the  salt-petre  makers 
have  the  power  of  entering  the  houses  of  the 
inhabitants,  obliging  them  to  suffer  their  stables 
and  cellars  to  be  dug  up  and  the  earth  carried 
away  for  the  use  of  the  state. 

"In  India  there  are  considerable  districts 
of  country  abounding  in  nitre.  The  lixiviation 
of  the  soil,  evaporation  of  the  lixivium,  and 
crystallization  constitute  the  whole  art  of  nitre- 
making;  hence  nitre  can  be  brought  ten  thou- 
sand miles  and  sold  at  a  price  considerably 
below  what  it  can  be  made  for  here.  Lands 
possessing  the  same  property  are  found  in 
Spain  and  in  South  America;  in  France  cer- 
tain stones  are  discovered  which  by  an  easy 
process  yield  nitre  in  abundance.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  lands  impregnated  with  this 
salt  exist  in  our  own  country;  none  such, 
it  is  true,  have  yet  been  discovered,  at  least 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  43 

on  this  side  the  mountains;  and  it  is  perhaps 
equally  true  that  the  investigation  has  never 
been  made  with  sufficient  accuracy.  But  though 
there  is  reason  to  regret  the  want  of  energy 
in  an  enquiry  so  important  to  the  public, 
and  the  success  of  which  would  at  once  set 
the  discoverer  beyond  the  reach  of  poverty, 
there  still  remains  a  source  from  which  nitre 
may  be  procured  in  quantities  sufficient  to 
meet  every  exigency.  This  subject  offers  to 
men  of  enterprise  and  activity  the  most  flatter- 
ing prospects  of  wealth,  and  has,  besides,  the 
advantage  of  public  utility  combined  with 
individual  emolument:  The  simplicity  of  the 
process  renders  this  source  of  riches  accessible 
to  men  of  the  most  moderate  capacity,  and 
its  public  utility  ought  to  stimulate  the  patriotic. 
Most  manufactories  require  an  extensive  capital 
to  be  employed  or  they  cannot  be  carried  on 
with  advantage;  but  from  this  inconvenience 
the  making  of  nitre  is  exempted.  The  few 
buildings  necessary,  are  constructed  with  as 
little  expence  as  the  sheds  of  a  brick-yard: 
the  utensils  are  chiefly  made  of  the  cheapest 
materials,  and  the  substances  from  which  nitre 
is  to  be  extracted  cost  little  more  than  the 
trouble  of  collecting  them. 

"It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  chymists  that 
nitre  is  produced  in  great  abundance  by  the 


44  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

decomposition  of  animal  and  vegetable  sub- 
stances by  putrefaction.  The  animal  matters 
afford  azotic  gas  in  a  fit  state  to  combine  with 
the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  and  produce 
nitric  acid,  while  the  decaying  vegetables  furnish 
potash  with  which  the  acid  unites  to  form  nitre. 
All  that  is  necessary,  therefore,  is  to  collect 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  these  materials  and 
place  them  in  circumstances  favourable  to  the 
development  of  the  principles  from  which  nitre 
originates  and  when  the  salt  is  formed  to 
extract  it  from  the  mass  through  which  it  is 
diffused. 

"To  make  nitre  with  advantage  no  depend- 
ence is  to  be  placed  upon  the  scanty  supply 
which  stables  and  cellars  afford  and  which 
cannot  be  procured  without  difficulty  and  ill- 
will.  What  are  called  nitre-beds  are  formed 
by  digging  a  long  and  wide  ditch  in  the  earth, 
filling  this  ditch  with  putrefying  animal  and 
vegetable  materials,  and  erecting  a  shed  over 
them  which  must  be  left  open  at  the  sides 
that  the  air  may  have  free  access.  The  vicinity 
of  larger  cities  is  the  proper  place  to  construct 
nitre-beds  for  here  the  supply  of  materials  is 
inexhaustible.  The  sweepings  of  the  streets, 
the  rubbish  of  old  buildings,  the  cleanings  of 
cellars,  and  the  refuse  vegetables,  of  Phila- 
delphia for  instance,  would  furnish  more  nitre- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  45 

beds  than  there  are  now  brick-yards.  When 
the  beds  are  formed  they  are  to  be  watered 
from  time  to  time  with  the  most  putrid  water 
in  the  neighborhood  and  of  which  in  the  environs 
of  cities  there  is  seldom  a  scarcity,  and  stirred 
occasionally  to  expose  fresh  surfaces  to  the  air. 
To  judge  when  the  bed  is  sufficiently  impreg- 
nated with  salt  to  be  worked  with  advantage 
a  small  quantity,  the  weight  of  which  must  be 
ascertained,  is  lixiviated  and  the  salt  obtained  by 
evaporation  and  crystallization.  The  weight  of 
the  salt  compared  with  that  of  the  compost  from 
which  it  was  procured  determines  the  question. 
"Having  decided  on  the  propriety  of  pro- 
ceeding to  extract  the  nitre,  a  number  of  large 
tubs,  similar  to  those  used  by  soap-boilers, 
must  be  procured  each  of  which  should  have  a 
hole  in  the  bottom  stopt  by  a  plug.  Some 
sticks  must  be  spread  on  the  bottom  of  each 
tub  and  a  little  loose  straw  thrown  over  them. 
The  nitrous  earth  must  then  be  put  in  so  as 
to  fill  about  two-thirds  of  each,  and  a  stratum 
of  wood-ashes  and  lime  in  the  quantity  of 
one  fourth  of  the  whole  mass  laid  at  top: 
boiling  water  is  then  to  be  poured  on  till  the 
tubs  are  full.  The  water  should  remain  twenty- 
four  hours  and  the  mixture  stirred  from  time 
to  time,  after  which  the  plug  is  to  be  taken 
out  and  the  ley  drawn  off. 


46  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"The  ley  thus  obtained  requires  to  be  clarified, 
which  is  done  by  mixing  some  blood  or  eggs 
with  it  and  gently  boiling.  The  impurities 
will  be  entangled  with  the  blood,  which  coagu- 
lates by  heat,  and  will  rise  to  the  top  in  a  thick 
scum,  which  must  be  carefully  taken  off.  After 
the  fluid  is  thus  prepared  it  must  be  put  into 
boilers,  which  for  convenience  may  be  fixed 
in  brick  work  as  in  pot-ash  manufactories, 
and  evaporated  until  a  drop  let  fall  on  any 
cold  substance,  becomes  solid:  it  is  now  to  be 
poured  into  large  earthen  pans  and  set  in  a 
cool  cellar  to  shoot.  At  the  end  of  two  days, 
or  sooner,  a  great  number  of  crystals  will 
be  formed  which  will  be  of  a  brownish  colour 
and  very  impure  owing  to  a  mixture  of  sea- 
salt,  several  salts  with  earthy  bases  and  some 
extractive  matter:  this  is  called  nitre  of  the 
first  boiling,  to  purify  which  it  must  be  dis- 
solved in  clean  water,  evaporated  and  crystalized 
as  before;  and  the  same  process  repeated  a 
third  time.  Nitre  of  the  third  boiling  is  not 
absolutely  pure,  but  it  is  sufficiently  so  for  the 
making  of  gun-powder,  and  most  other  pur- 
poses: it  is  only  for  some  nice  chemical  experi- 
ments and  in  medicine  that  greater  purity  is 
required  and  this  may  be  obtained  by  repeating 
the  solutions  and  crystalizations. 

"It  is  to  be  observed  that  all  the  salt  is  not 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  47 

extracted  from  the  materials  by  the  first  water: 
a  second  quantity  is  therefore  to  be  poured  on 
and,  after  remaining  a  day,  drawn  off  as  at 
first.  This  ley  is  not  sufficiently  strong  to  be 
evaporated  with  profit  but  is  used  instead  of 
simple  water  to  extract  the  salt  from  fresh 
materials;  and  the  fluid  that  remains  in  the 
pans  after  the  first  crystalization  contains  a 
great  deal  of  nitre  which  may  be  obtained  by 
further  evaporation  and  cooling." 


In  1769  there  appeared  an  article  from  the 
pen  of  Dr.  Percival  "On  Bitters  and  Astrin- 
gents." It  passed  through  four  editions  and 
was  translated  into  foreign  languages.  Several 
chemists  had  essayed  to  "controvert  some  of 
the  principles"  set  forth  by  Dr.  Percival,  and 
Woodhouse,  being  deeply  interested  in  the 
facts  set  forth  by  Percival  but  differing  radically 
from  him  issued  "Observations  on  the  Combi- 
nation of  Acids,  Bitters  and  Astringents"  in 
1793,  in  which,  declaring  his  sole  "object, 
the  establishment  of  the  truth"  he  wrote  thus: 

"Dr.  Percival  .  .  .  having  infused  a  quantity 
of  powdered  Peruvian  bark  in  vinegar  and 
water,  and  added  some  of  the  infusion  to  a 
chalybeate  solution,  he  found  at  first  no  change 
of  colour  take  place,  though  in  a  few  minutes 
a  slight  black  tinge  appeared. 


48  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"The  result  of  this  experiment,  induced 
him  to  make  further  trials  of  the  effects  of 
acids  on  vegetable  astringents,  and  having 
added  some  white  wine  vinegar  to  an  infusion 
of  chamomile  flowers,  and  a  triturated  infusion 
of  the  bark,  and  added  these  infusions  to  a 
solution  of  sal  mortis,  he  found  no  change  of 
colour  produced.  Afterwards  having  made 
ink,  with  an  infusion  of  galls,  and  a  solution 
of  sal  mortis,  he  discharged  the  black  colour 
by  the  acid  of  vitriol,  and  then  restored  the 
original  blackness  with  the  spirit  of  hartshorne. 

"From  these  experiments  he  supposed  an 
affinity  between  acids,  bitters  and  astringents, 
and  this  suggested  to  him  an  idea,  that  they 
might  possibly  neutralize  each  other,  and  form 
what  the  chymists  call  a  tertium  quid.  This 
point  he  attempted  to  ascertain  by  adding 
vinegar  to  infusions  of  the  bark,  Aleppo  galls 
and  gentian,  and  concluded  from  his  experi- 
ments, that  acids,  bitters  and  astringents  neu- 
tralize each  other. 

"Having  given  this  summary  of  the  experi- 
ments of  Dr.  Percival,  I  shall 

"1.  Take  notice  of  the  best  method  of  dis- 
covering an  astringent  quality  in  vegetables. 

"2.  Shew  that  change  which  takes  place, 
upon  adding  a  vegetable  astringent  to  a  solution 
of  green  vitriol. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  49 

"3.  Point  out  the  manner  in  which  the 
doctor  was  deceived,  and 

"4.  Relate  several  decisive  experiments,  in 
which  mineral  and  vegetable  acids,  were  added 
to  bitters,  and  astringents. 

"1.  The  property  of  striking  a  black  colour 
with  a  solution  of  green  vitriol,  has  long  been 
regarded  as  an  indubitable  test  of  astringency, 
but  as  this  is  owing  to  the  gallic  acid  uniting 
with  the  iron  of  the  green  vitriol,  as  many 
vegetables  contain  this  acid,  which  are  not 
astringent,  as  the  black  colour  produced  is 
not  in  proportion  to  the  astringency,  as  it 
does  not  happen  when  the  astringency  is  not 
destroyed  by  the  acids,  and  it  takes  place  when 
the  astringent  principle  is  completely  destroyed 
by  magnesia  or  the  alkalies,  it  follows  that  the 
property  by  which  vegetables  strike  a  black 
colour,  with  a  solution  of  green  vitriol,  cannot 
be  considered  as  a  proof  of  their  astringency. 


"2.  Upon  adding  a  vegetable  astringent  to  a 
solution  of  sal  martis,  a  black  colour  is  produced. 

"There  have  been  many  different  explanations 
of  this  fact;  the  opinion  to  which  Dr.  Percival 
seems  to  have  adhered,  is  that  the  astringent  prin- 
ciple was  united  to  the  iron  of  the  green  vitriol. 


50  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"3.  Dr.  Percival  was  deceived,  first,  from 
using  a  fallacious  test  of  astringency,  secondly, 
from  being  under  the  influence  of  a  precon- 
ceived opinion,  and  thirdly,  from  being  ignorant 
of  that  change  which  takes  place,  upon  adding 
a  vegetable  astringent  to  a  solution  of  sal 
martis.  As  he  thought  he  had  proved,  that 
acids  neutralize  astringents,  so  when  he  added 
the  vitriolic  acid,  to  a  decoction  of  galls  and  a 
solution  of  sal  martis,  he  supposed  the  acid 
neutralized  the  astringent  principle,  whereas, 
it  only  dissolved  the  ferrugenious  particles, 
that  this  is  actually  the  case  may  be  proved 
by  adding  the  pure  gallic  acid,  which  is  not 
astringent,  to  a  solution  of  green  vitriol,  and 
then  discharging  the  black  colour,  by  dissolving 
the  precipitate,  with  the  vitriolic  or  marine 
acid. 

"4.  I  shall  relate  a  few  experiments,  in  which 
mineral  and  vegetable  acids,  were  added  to 
bitters  and  astringents,  and  take  notice  of  the 
result. 

EXPERIMENT  I. 

"Different  portions  of  the  vitriolic,  nitrous 
and  marine  acids,  vinegar  and  lime  juice, 
were  separately  added  to  solutions  of  gentian, 
chamomile  flowers  and  columbo  root;  the 
bitter  principle  always  predominated  to  the 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  51 

taste,   a  piece  of  paper  stained  blue,   was  in 
every  instance  turned  to  a  red  colour. 

EXPERIMENT  II. 

"Different  portions  of  the  vitriolic,  nitrous, 
marine  acids,  vinegar  and  lime  juice,  were 
separately  added  to  solutions  of  galls,  Spanish 
oak  and  Peruvian  bark;  in  no  one  instance 
was  the  astringent  principle  neutralized;  the 
solution  of  galls  was  more  pleasant  to  the 
taste,  the  astringency  of  the  oak  bark  appeared 
to  be  increased;  upon  adding  the  vegetable 
alkali  to  it,  a  more  copious  precipitation  took 
place,  than  from  the  watery  solution  alone. 

EXPERIMENT  III. 

"Alum  added  to  a  solution  of  galls  and 
Spanish  oak  bark,  caused  a  precipitate,  partly 
insoluble  in  the  vitriolic  acid. 

"This  experiment  was  suggested  by  reading 
an  essay  intitled  'Consideration  in  different 
materials  as  objects  of  the  art  of  dyeing';  by 
Mr.  Henry,  published  in  the  third  volume  of 
the  Manchester  memoirs,  wherein  he  asserts 
a  complete  decomposition  of  alum  takes  place 
when  added  to  a  solution  of  galls,  which  is 
by  no  means  the  case,  as  the  alum  may  be 
obtained  by  chrystallization  after  the  addition. 

"The  insoluble  precipitate  is  the  resin  of  the 


52  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

galls,  which  may  be  thrown  down,  by  using  a 
solution  of  columbo  root,  instead  of  alum, 
but  which  will  not  take  place  with  chamomile 
flowers  or  gentian,  or  by  adding  the  alum  to 
a  solution  of  Peruvian  bark. 

"The  frequent  opportunities  Dr.  Percival 
had  of  observing  the  effects,  arising  from  a 
combination  of  green  vitriol  and  astringents, 
naturally  led  him  to  examine  into  the  principles 
of  ink,  and  from  a  number  of  fallacious  experi- 
ments, he  was  led  to  differ  materially  from 
Dr.  Lewis,  who  has  paid  particular  attention 
to  this  subject. 

"Having  immersed  a  piece  of  polished  iron, 
into  a  cold  infusion  of  the  Peruvian  bark,  made 
with  distilled  water,  he  found  the  liquor  in 
three  hours  just  preceptibly  tinged  black;  while 
the  same  piece  of  iron  wiped  clean,  and  immersed 
in  another  infusion  of  the  cortex,  made  with 
common  spring  water,  in  less  time  gave  a  deep 
purple  colour  to  the  liquor. 

"The  spring  water  employed,  he  tells  us, 
contained  a  considerable  portion  of  selenitic 
salt,  and  hence,  by  dissolving  the  iron  immersed 
in  it,  formed  a  perfect  sal  martis,  from  which 
he  inferred  an  acid  is  essentially  necessary  in 
the  formation  of  ink,  and  having  afterwards 
prosecuted  the  subject,  concluded  'whatever 
deprives  green  vitriol  of  its  acid,  whether  it  be 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  53 

heat,  the  addition  of  an  alkali,  or  repeated 
affusions  of  water,  destroys  its  power  of  striking 
a  black  colour,  with  vegetable  astringents.' 

"The  experiments  detailed  by  the  Doctor, 
by  no  means  justify  this  conclusion;  he  did 
not  attempt  to  make  ink,  with  a  calx  of  iron, 
precipitated  from  green  vitriol  by  an  alkali, 
and  it  clearly  appears  it  made  use  of  the  earth, 
which  never  fails  to  be  mixed  with  green  vitriol, 
in  the  decomposition  of  the  pyrites  instead  of  a 
calx  of  iron,  and  which  separates  from  it  by 
solution  in  water,  in  the  form  of  a  yellow  ochre, 
or  he  never  would  have  thought  of  depriving 
green  vitriol  of  its  acid,  by  'repeated  affusions 
of  water.' 

"To  put  this  matter  beyond  a  doubt: 

EXPERIMENT  IV. 

"A  quantity  of  the  calx  of  iron,  thrown  down 
from  green  vitriol  by  the  vegetable  alkali, 
being  several  times  washed,  until  the  water 
was  insipid  to  the  taste,  and  produced  no 
further  precipitation  upon  the  addition  of  an 
alkali,  when  added  to  a  solution  of  galls,  pro- 
duced an  ink,  equal  to  that  made  with  common 
green  vitriol. 

"Having  thus  taken  a  summary  of  part, 
and  the  most  important  part,  of  the  essay  on 
bitters  and  astringents,  pointed  out  the  taste 


54  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

as  the  least  fallacious  test  of  astringency,  shewn 
the  manner  in  which  Dr.  Percival  was  deceived, 
and  confuted  him  in  several  particulars,  we  may 
conclude: 

"1.  Acids  and  bitters  do  not  neutralize  each 
other. 

"2.  Acids  by  a  superior  affinity  to  the  base 
of  the  astringent  principle,  by  detaching  the 
gallic  acid,  decompose,  but  do  not  neutralize 
astringents,  forming  salts  or  saline  gums  of 
different  degrees  of  astringency,  according  to 
the  acids  employed. 

"The  astringency  of  the  oak  bark  was  in- 
creased by  the  vitriolic  acid,  because  it  con- 
tains a  large  proportion  of  earth  unsaturated 
by  the  gallic  acid,  hence  the  copious  precipi- 
tation, upon  the  addition  of  the  alkali,  after 
adding  the  vitriolic  acid. 

"By  spontaneous  evaporation  in  the  open 
air,  an  acid  salt  is  produced,  and  during  the 
chrystallization,  micaceous  spangles,  resembling 
drops  of  tar  thrown  into  water,  appear  swimming 
on  the  surface  of  the  fluid. 

"The  bark  of  an  oak  tree  may  be  considered 
as  a  coat  of  pure  argillacious  earth;  to  prove 
this,  let  a  small  quantity  of  the  ashes  which 
falls  upon  a  log  of  wood,  after  the  combustion 
of  the  bark  be  collected,  and  they  will  be  found 
insipid  to  the  taste,  upon  adding  weak  vitriolic 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  55 

acid  once  or  twice,  and  washing  the  mixture 
in  water,  the  phlogistic  matter  will  be  destroyed, 
and  the  pure  white  earth  may  be  obtained, 
mixed  with  a  small  proportion  of  silex.  Alum 
in  this  case  will  not  be  formed,  as  the  solution 
will  not  take  place  in  the  cold. 

"The  argillacious  earth  which  is  found  in 
common  ashes,  comes  principally  from  the 
bark,  the  vegetable  alkali,  from  the  body  of 
the  wood,  though  no  doubt  in  the  latter  case, 
argill  and  silex  may  be  obtained,  but  in  no 
proportion  to  the  vast  quantities  contained 
in  the  bark. 

"3.  The  vitriolic  acid,  according  to  the  opinion 
of  Dr.  Lewis,  and  contrary  to  the  opinion  of 
Dr.  Percival,  is  not  necessary  in  the  formation 
of  ink." 

That  Woodhouse  in  no  wise  considered  him- 
self infallible  is  seen  from  the  following  lines: 
"The  author  .  .  .  has  but  one  object,  the 
establishment  of  truth;  as  he  has  made  free 
with  the  opinions  of  his  predecessors,  he  wishes 
his  own  may  be  diligently  scrutinized,  for  he 
is  as  equally  liable  to  be  deceived,  as  others 
of  his  Medical  brethren." 


The  monotony  of  medical  practice  may  have 
irked  Woodhouse  as  it  has  others  who  have 


56  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

come  through  medicine  to  chemistry.  It  was, 
however,  the  only  course  open  in  those  days  to 
chemical  aspirants.  Thousands  since  have 
pursued  this  course.  Many  chemists,  too, 
have  come  through  pharmaceutical  training  to 
chemistry  and  have  made  their  presence  as 
teachers  and  investigators  very  appreciably 
felt.  However,  the  day  of  Woodhouse's  release 
from  his  distasteful  pursuits  was  rapidly  ap- 
proaching; indeed,  how  it  all  came  about  may 
now  be  set  forth;  but  before  narrating  the 
manner  in  which  the  change  occurred  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  introduce  a  few  facts, 
even  though  a  bit  remote  to  the  subject.  First, 
it  was  said  in  after  life  by  Silliman  and  again 
by  Rush  that  Woodhouse  was  an  infidel,  an 
atheist.  If  this  was  true  it  was  probably  due 
to  his  environment.  Let  us  not  forget  that 
the  year  1793  was  the  most  eventful  one  during 
the  decade.  Citizen  Genet  had  just  arrived  in 
Philadelphia  accompanied  by  numerous  fol- 
lowers. The  saturnalia  of  license  and  revelry, 
which  ensued,  surpassed  anything  similar  wit- 
nessed in  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love  before 
or  since.  Several  thousand  French  refugees 
came  shortly  thereafter  from  San  Domingo. 
And  it  has  been  asserted  that  from  the  moment 
the  notorious  Genet  and  his  admirers  entered 
the  home  city  of  Woodhouse  on  May  16,  1793, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  57 

pandemonium  broke  loose.  He  was  welcomed 
by  prominent  citizens,  f£ted  at  the  State  House 
and  overwhelmed  with  extravagant  attentions 
on  all  sides.  Soon  Philadelphia  became  infected 
with  the  Gallic  craze.  .  .  .  French  names 
and  customs  prevailed  .  .  .  the  vices  of  the 
Latin  became  firmly  seated  in  the  city  on  the 
Delaware.  The  newspapers  were  filled  with 
French  advertisements — dancing  schools,  French 
lessons,  fencing  academies,  pastry  shops,  French 
brandy,  etc.  Children  were  instructed  in  the 
wild  dance  and  French  song  known  as  the 
Carmagnola,  etc.  Even  the  staid,  thrifty 
business  and  professional  men  were  swept  from 
their  feet  and  fell  into  conduct  and  views  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  their  strict  Colonial 
teaching.  It  is  not  improbable  that  Woodhouse 
yielded  to  the  spirit  of  the  day  and  may  have 
carried  through  life  some  of  the  ideas  then 
absorbed. 

But  the  tragic  feature  of  the  year  1793  must 
not  be  forgotten.  This  was  nothing  less  than 
the  fearful  visitation  of  yellow  fever — that 
deadly  scourge  which  carried  away  by  death 
5,000  souls  from  August  1st  until  November  9th. 
It  was  then  that  mourners  went  about  the 
streets — friend  after  friend  having  been  stricken 
with  the  fearful  malady,  and  people  scarcely 
dared  meet  to  pray  together — when  doctors 


58  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

were  dead — nurses  fled — the  poor  neglected; 
but  Woodhouse  remained,  heroically  supporting 
his  chief,  Rush,  and  performing  his  duty  amidst 
surroundings  which  literally  tried  men's  souls. 
It  was  a  magnificent  exhibition  of  his  sturdy, 
unselfish  character.  And  it  was  of  this  man 
that  it  was  said,  "his  opinions  and  conduct 
were  regulated  by  Rochefoucault's  maxims — 
an  open  and  rude  infidel." 

But  to  return  to  the  immediate  subject, 
and  his  promotion.  It  was  also  in  1793  that 
James  Hutchinson,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in 
the  Medical  School  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, died,  and  on  Tuesday,  January  7,  1794, 
Dr.  John  Carson  was  chosen  his  successor. 
Unfortunately,  before  he  could  deliver  a  lecture 
the  Grim  Messenger  summoned  him  hence. 

On  June  4,  1794,  the  renowned  Priestley 
arrived  in  New  York.  Upon  his  landing  he 
was  welcomed  by  many  distinguished  persons. 
He  received  addresses  from  learned  societies, 
among  them  the  ancient  American  Philosophical 
Society,  and  on  his  arrival  in  Philadelphia, 
he  was  greeted  with  the  greatest  cordiality. 
Priestley  himself  said,  "My  reception  is  too 
flattering,  no  form  of  respect  being  omitted. 
I  have  received  formal  addresses;  more,  they 
say,  are  coming;  and  almost  every  person 
of  the  least  consequence  in  the  place  has  been, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  59 

or  is  coming,  to  call  upon  me."  And,  again: 
"Whether  it  be  the  effect  of  liberty  or  some 
other  cause,  I  find  more  clever  men,  capable 
of  conversing  with  propriety  and  fluency  on 
all  subjects  relating  to  government  than  I  have 
met  with  anywhere  in  England." 

So  favorably  impressed  with  Priestley  were 
the  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
that  a  minute  of  the  Board  for  November  11, 
1794,  reads: 

"The  Board,  according  to  order  proceeded 
to  the  election  of  a  Professor  of  Chemistry 
in  the  room  of  Dr.  John  Carson,  Deceased, 
when  the  ballots  being  taken  and  counted, 
it  appeared  that  Dr.  Joseph  Priestley  was 
unanimously  elected." 

In  the  Memoirs  of  Priestley  (p.  167)  it  is 
stated  that  this  professorship  "would  probably 
have  yielded  him  3000  dollars  per  annum, 
there  being  generally  about  200  students  in 
Medicine  of  whom  about  150  attend  the  Chemi- 
cal lectures  .  .  .  but  he  thought  that  if  he 
undertook  the  duties  of  a  professor,  he  should 
not  be  so  much  at  liberty  to  follow  his  favorite 
pursuits  .  .  .  but  what  had  greater  weight 
with  him  than  anything  else  was  that  my 
mother,  who  had  been  harrassed  in  her  mind 
ever  since  the  riots  in  Birmingham,  thought 
that  by  living  in  the  country,  at  a  distance 


60  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

from  the  cities,  she  should  be  more  likely  to 
obtain  that  quiet  of  which  she  stood  so  much 
in  need."  This  quotation  explains  the  following 
minute  of  the  Trustees  for  March  3,  1795  : 

"Mr.  Chief  Justice  (McKean)  informed  the 
Board  that  Dr.  Joseph  Priestley  had  declined 
the  Professorship  of  Chemistry,  to  which  he 
was  elected  in  this  institution  the  llth  of 
November  last." 

Whereupon  Rush,  solicitous  for  his  protege 
and  eager  that  he  should  have  the  advantages 
accruing  from  so  important  a  position,  promptly 
indited  the  following  letter: 

To  the  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
GENTLEMEN: 

The  bearer,  Dr.  James  Woodhouse,  was  my  pupil  for 
four  years,  during  which  he  employed  much  of  his  time  in 
chemical  research  and  experiments.  He  has  since  devoted 
himself  with  great  ardour  to  the  study  of  Chemistry. 
From  his  talents,  industry  and  knowledge,  I  believe  him 
to  be  amply  qualified  to  fill  the  Chemical  Chair  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  BENJAMIN  RUSH 

May  20,  1795. 

This  cordial  recommendation  is  of  more 
than  passing  interest  in  the  light  of  the  follow- 
ing letter  addressed  by  Rush  to  his  friend 
John  Redman  Coxe  on  November  4,  1794: 

"...  Dr.  Carson  died  a  few  days  ago.  The  Pro- 
fessorship of  Chemistry  will  be  offered  to  Dr.  Priestley. 
What  say  you  to  qualifying  yourself  to  succeed  him? 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  61 

His  (Priestley's)  age  will  prevent  his  discharging  the  duties 
of  that  Chair  more  than  eight  or  nine  years.  .  .  ." 

Coxe,  at  the  time,  was  in  London  and  Rush 
did  not  anticipate  a  declination  on  the  part 
of  Priestley,  so  when  this  came  he  seized  upon 
his  favorite  pupil  as  a  suitable  candidate  for 
the  vacancy,  as  it  was  evidently  his  purpose 
to  place  a  friend  in  the  position.  Hence  the 
election  of  Woodhouse  on  Tuesday,  July  7, 
1795,  in  the  room  of  Joseph  Priestley  must  have 
gratified  him  immensely,  for  he  was  quick  to 
write  again  to  Coxe: 

PHILADA  July  18th  1795 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND: 

I  have  great  pleasure  in  informing  you  that  Dr.  Wood- 
house  is  elected  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  our  University. 
The  votes  were  10  in  his  favor  6  for  Barton  &  one  for 
Dr  Ross  (?).  The  appointment  gives  great  pleasure  to  all 
the  students  of  medicine.  To  me  it  is  a  cordial.  His 
conduct  as  my  pupil,  and  above  all,  his  kindness,  human- 
ity, sympathy,  &  services  to  me  during  the  glowing 
autumn  of  1793  had  endeared  him  to  me  in  a  high  degree. 
In  soliciting  votes  for  him  I  told  some  of  the  trustees,  that 
I  was  only  paying  a  debt  of  gratitude  I  owed  him.  I 
have  only  to  add  that  I  wish  in  the  Course  of  my  life  I 
may  have  it  in  my  power  to  acknowledge  my  obligations 
as  forcibly  &  successfully  to  you  &  W™  Fisher — Dr  Wood- 
house  has  entered  upon  his  preparatory  studies  for  his 
course  with  great  spirit.  His  laboratory  is  already  clear 
and  in  order.  I  have  no  fears  for  his  success  and  reputa- 
tion. He  has  genius,  industry,  knowledge  &  great  steadi- 


62  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

ness  of  Character  —  Barton  is  sorely  mortified.  He  was 
so  sure  of  the  appointment  that  he  sat  at  the  feet  of  the 
Stairs  of  the  university  while  the  election  was  held, 
ready  to  receive  notice  of  it.  Poor  fellow!  He  is  much  to 
be  pitied.  His  talents,  directed  by  principle  and  indus- 
try, would  have  made  him  respectable.  .  .  . 

Whereupon  Coxe  wrote  in  the  following  vein : 

LONDON,  September  5,  1795 
DEAREST  SIB: 

I  was  much  rejoiced  by  a  letter  from  Mr  Fisher  a  few 
days  ago — to  find  that  Dr.  Woodhouse  has  gained  the 
Chemical  Chair  exclusive  of  his  abilities  etc.  which  will 
render  his  Professorship  so  beneficial;  I  was  not  a  little 

pleased  with  the  disappointment  and  chagrin  of  the 

in  being  unable  to  establish  their  candidate  in  that 
situation. 


Woodhouse's  election  ushered  him  into  a 
goodly  company  of  distinguished  men  who  con- 
stituted the  faculty  of  the  Medical  School  at 
the  time.  They  had  all  attained  the  highest 
rank  in  their  several  specialties  and  enjoyed  a 
world -wide  reputation.  They  were  also  his 
seniors  in  years.  However,  his  course  among 
them,  during  the  period  of  his  activity  won 
their  confidence  and  admiration.  It  was  not 
long  until  he  was  intrusted  with  the  deanship 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  63 

of  the  School.  All  his  duties  were  discharged 
with  the  greatest  care.  Students,  also,  came  to 
know  him  well  and  gave  him  their  confidence. 
Many  of  their  inaugural  theses  were  dedicated 
to  him.  Among  these  was  a  rather  notable 
contribution  "On  the  Medical  and  Chemical 
Properties  of  Tobacco,"  the  author  of  which 
said  in  his  dedicatory  lines,  besides  other  things, 

Suffer  me  at  the  same  time  to  declare  that  a  grateful 
remembrance  of  the  many  favors  you  have  conferred  will 
be  ever  retained  by 

Yr.  affectionate  friend, 

EDWARD  BRAILSFORD. 

John  Gough  likewise  dedicated  his  thesis 
"On  Cantharides,  etc.,"  to  Woodhouse,  and 
besides  the  friendly  acknowledgment  of  assist- 
ance took  particular  pains  to  announce  that 
"Dr.  Woodhouse  has  discovered  two  other 
species  of  this  fly." 

Further,  Joseph  Klapp  of  Albany  wrote: 

"To  you  this  imperfect  essay  is  dedicated  not  with  the 
vain  expectation  of  giving  fame  to  a  reputation  already 
established,  but  solely  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  my 
thanks  for  the  friendly  attention  which  you  have  bestowed 
upon  me  while  in  this  city;  and  the  high  sentiments  which 
I  shall  ever  cherish  for  your  unrivalled  talents  as  an  able 
instructor  and  scientific  chemist." 

Robert  M.  Patterson,  Professor  of  Chemistry 


64  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

in  the  College  of  the  University,  Vice-Provost 
of  the  latter,  and  subsequently  Director  of  the 
U.  S.  Mint,  attended  Dr.  Woodhouse's  course 
in  Chemistry,  and  said,  "It  was  there  I  acquired 
my  taste  for  this  science." 

Additional  proofs  could  be  offered,  showing 
clearly  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held. 

In  1796,  Woodhouse  was  elected  to  member- 
ship in  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
and  was  active  in  its  affairs  until  his  death, 
serving  at  various  times  as  secretary  and 
councillor.  On  one  occasion  he  was  chosen 
annual  orator,  and  at  another  meeting,  upon 
request  of  the  Society,  repeated  a  series  of 
experiments  in  connection  with  a  communication 
presented  by  E.  J.  Dupont  de  Nemours,  "On 
the  utility  of  the  oxygenated  muriatic  acid 
gas  in  recovering  animals  from  asphyxia." 

Despite  his  evident  interest  in  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Society,  much  of  his  thought,  energy 
and  time  were  given  to  the  Chemical  Society 
of  Philadelphia,  which  was,  so  far  as  can  be 
ascertained,  his  own  child.  It  was  in  its  meet- 
ings that  most  of  his  communications  were 
probably  made  and  discussed. 

It  is  exasperating  to  the  student  of  the 
history  of  Chemistry  in  this  country  that  more 
cannot  be  learned  about  this  pioneer  Society. 
The  fragmentary  items  discovered  from  time 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  65 

to  time  become  fairly  tantalizing.  It  can  only 
be  hoped  that  by  creating  a  live  interest  in 
the  early  Chemistry  of  Philadelphia  someone 
may  be  imbued  with  a  spirit  strong  enough 
to  search  out  the  old  nooks  and  corners  in 
neglected  libraries — private  and  public — in  this 
quest. 

But,  to  leave  this  digression  and  return 
again  to  the  fall  of  1795,  following  close  upon 
Woodhouse's  elevation  to  such  a  dignified  and 
important  post,  interesting  comments  will  be 
noted.  He  was,  as  previously  mentioned,  the 
particular  choice  of  Rush.  His  opponent  or 
competitor  was  the  very  able,  competent  Adam 
Seybert,  whom  Wistar  strenuously  sought  to 
have  elected,  but  he  was  even  set  aside  for 
Barton.  The  personal  feeling  of  antagonism 
between  Rush  and  Wistar  was  very  marked. 
They  were  almost  open  enemies,  hence  Wood- 
house's  selection  gave  the  followers  of  Rush 
unfeigned  delight. 

As  to  Adam  Seybert  it  should  be  mentioned 
that  he  was  one  of  the  very  first  Americans  to 
enjoy  a  training  in  the  School  of  Mines  of  Paris 
in  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
He  was  a  skilful  chemist,  especially  along 
analytical  lines.  It  was  he,  who,  early  in 
eighteen  hundred,  performed  the  office  of  his 
great  namesake  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  by 


66  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

naming  the  few  minerals,  then  forming  the 
collection  of  Yale  College,  when  submitted  to 
him  by  Silliman,  the  elder. 

It  has  been  averred  that  neither  Rush  nor 
Wistar  felt  any  special  regard  for  his  chosen 
candidate,  except  from  the  consideration  that 
he  would  be  his  own  retainer,  and,  as  such, 
would  aid  in  giving  him  party  strength  in  the 
institution.  The  respective  claims  of  the  two 
candidates  having  been  vigorously  pushed  for 
several  weeks,  the  day  of  the  election  at  length 
arrived,  the  vote  was  taken,  and,  as  mentioned 
before,  Woodhouse  was  chosen,  though  Seybert 
was,  at  the  time,  the  more  experienced  chemist. 

A  graphic  account  of  the  course  pursued  by 
Woodhouse,  close  upon  his  election,  is  given 
in  the  autobiography  of  Dr.  Charles  Caldwell. 
The  latter  was  an  adherent  of  Rush.  He  was 
also  plainly  an  egotist  and  a  captious  critic. 
Nevertheless,  the  picture  he  has  handed  to 
posterity,  relative  to  Woodhouse  and  the  career 
opened  before  him,  is  very  readable  and  also 
illuminating.  It  reads: 

"Upon  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Woodhouse 
to  the  professorship  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, he  began  immediately  to  prepare  him- 
self for  the  duties  of  his  new  and  promising 
career.  He  became,  in  a  short  time,  so  expert 
and  successful  an  experimenter,  as  to  receive 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  67 

from  Dr.  Priestley,  who  had  just  arrived  in 
the  United  States,  very  flattering  comments 
on  his  dexterity  and  skill.  That  distinguished 
gentleman,  on  seeing  him  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness of  his  laboratory,  did  not  hesitate  to  pro- 
nounce him  equal,  as  an  experimenter,  to  anyone 
he  had  seen  in  either  England  or  France.  .  .  . 
At  times,  his  devotion  to  chemistry  and  the 
labor  he  sustained  in  the  cultivation  of  it  were 
perfectly  marvelous — not  to  say  preternatural. 
.  .  .  During  an  entire  summer,  (one  of  the 
hottest  I  have  ever  experienced)  he  literally 
lived  in  his  laboratory,  and  clung  to  his  experi- 
ments with  an  enthusiasm  and  persistency 
which  at  length  threw  him  into  a  paroxysm 
of  mental  derangement,  marked  by  the  most 
extravagant  hallucinations  and  fancies.  He 
even  believed,  and  on  one  occasion,  proclaimed, 
in  a  company  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  that, 
by  chemical  agency  alone,  he  could  produce 
a  human  being. 

"The  special  object  of  his  experiments  at 
that  time  was  the  decomposition  and  recom- 
position  of  water.  The  agent  employed  in 
his  processes  was  of  course  caloric.  And  no 
alchymist  in  pursuit  of  the  alcahest,  or  the 
philosopher's  stone,  ever  labored  in  his  voca- 
tion with  a  wilder  enthusiasm,  a  more  sublimated 
intensity,  or  a  perseverance  more  stubborn, 


68  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 


than  he  did,  immersed  in  a  temperature  intoler- 
able to  any  human  being  possessed  of  natural 
and  healthful  sensibility. 

"As  already  mentioned  the  weather  was 
almost  unprecedently  hot;  and  his  laboratory 
was  in  sundry  places  perpetually  glowing  with 
blazing  charcoal,  and  red-hot  furnaces,  crucibles, 
and  gun-barrels,  and  often  bathed  in  every 
portion  of  it  with  the  steam  of  boiling  water. 
Rarely,  during  the  day,  was  the  temperature 
of  this  atmosphere  lower  than  from  110°  to 
115°  of  Fahrenheit — at  times,  perhaps,  even 
higher. 

"Almost  daily  did  I  visit  the  professor  in 
that  salamander's  home,  and  uniformly  found 
him  in  the  same  condition — stripped  to  his 
shirt  and  summer  pantaloons,  his  collar  un- 
buttoned, his  sleeves  rolled  up  above  his  elbows, 
the  sweat  streaming  copiously  down  his  face 
and  person,  and  his  whole  vesture  dripping 
wet  with  the  same  fluid.  He,  himself,  more- 
over, being  always  engaged  in  either  actually 
performing  or  closely  watching  and  super- 
intending his  processes,  was  stationed  for  the 
most  part  in  or  near  to  one  of  the  hottest  spots 
in  his  laboratory. 

"My  salutation  to  him  on  entering  his  semi- 
Phlegethon  of  heat  not  infrequently  was :  '  Good 
God,  Doctor,  how  can  you  bear  to  remain  so 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  69 

constantly  in  so  hot  a  room?  It  is  a  perfect 
purgatory.'  To  this  half  interrogatory,  half 
exclamation,  the  reply  received  was  usually 
to  the  same  purport.  'Hot,  sir — hot!  do  you 
call  this  a  hot  room?  Why,  sir,  it  is  one  of 
the  coolest  rooms  in  Philadelphia.  Exhalation, 
sir,  is  the  most  cooling  process.  And  do  you 
not  see  how  the  sweat  exhales  from  my  body, 
and  carries  off  all  the  caloric?  Do  you  not 
know,  sir,  that  by  exhalation,  ice  can  be  pro- 
duced under  the  sun  of  the  hottest  climates?' 
"Such  was  the  professor's  doctrine;  nor 
have  I  the  slightest  doubt  of  his  belief  in  its 
correctness.  So  deep  is  the  hallucination  in 
which  alchemy  first,  and  afterwards  chemistry, 
its  lineal  descendant,  have,  in  many  cases, 
involved  the  minds  of  their  votaries  and  rendered 
them  permanently  wild  and  visionary  in  their 
actions.  It  is  not,  I  think,  to  be  doubted  that 
alchemy  and  chemistry  have  deranged  a  greater 
number  of  intellects  than  all  the  other  branches 
of  science  united.  Even  at  the  present  day 
it  is  hardly  short  of  lunacy  to  contend,  as  many 
chemists  do,  that  chemical  and  vital  forces 
are  identical." 

Another  contemporary  wrote:  "Woodhouse 
went  to  work  with  a  zeal  and  delivered  a  course 
of  lectures  with  great  applause;  and  as  almost 


70  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

the  whole  of  his  time  was  devoted  to  the  study 
of  his  favorite  science,  he  added  to  the  number, 
variety,  and  brilliancy  of  his  experiments." 

Again : 

"Nor  is  it  aught  but  justice  to  him  to  say, 
that  his  improvement  in  the  science  he  was 
destined  to  teach  was  signally  rapid.  He 
became  so  expert  and  successful  as  an  experi- 
menter as  to  receive  very  flattering  compli- 
ments, on  all  sides,  on  his  dexterity  and  skill. 
For  Chemistry,  he  retained  until  his  death, 
a  predilection  and  fondness  which  were  denomi- 
nated with  sufficient  aptitude,  in  technical 
language,  his  'elective  attraction.'  To  every- 
thing but  experimental  chemistry  he  became 
comparatively  dull  and  indifferent." 

"His  lectures,"  adds  a  third,  "were  replete 
with  a  number  of  brilliant  experiments  and 
were  received  with  great  applause." 

Knowing  that  the  eyes  of  the  scientific  world 
of  America  were  upon  him,  Woodhouse  attacked 
his  problems  with  energy.  He  was  well  launched 
upon  his  real  academic  career,  and  during  the 
short  fourteen  years  of  its  continuance,  accom- 
plished vastly  more  than  even  many  moderns 
are  able  to  achieve  with  all  their  up-to-date 
conveniences. 

The  petty  annoyances,  arising  at  times  among 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  71 

his  colleagues  in  Medicine,  as  exhibited  in  the 
subjoined  letters  must  have  wearied  him  greatly. 
Thus  Rush  wrote  to  Coxe  on  December  8, 
1795: 

"The  lancet  has  at  last  become  less  un- 
popular in  our  city.  It  is  introducing  Griffiths, 
Physick,  Dewees,  Woodhouse  and  a  Dr.  Gal- 
lagher rapidly  into  business.  ..." 

The  lancet  refers,  of  course,  to  blood-letting 
— bleeding — a  favorite  procedure  with  Rush; 
and  on  April  28,  1796,  the  latter,  again  address- 
ing Coxe,  said: 

"Dr.  Barton  has  succeeded  Griffiths  as  Pro- 
fessor of  Materia  Medica  in  our  University. 
Dr.  James  Woodhouse  was  opposed  to  him. 
He  lost  the  appointment  by  three  votes.  Dr. 
Shippen  was  Barton's  open  friend,  and  the 
other  professors  (Woodhouse  and  myself  ex- 
cepted)  did  not  oppose  him — hence  his  success! 
I  consider  him  as  a  recruit  to  the  enemies  of 
the  new  System  of  Medicine  and  that  he  will 
be  supported  in  proportion  as  he  barks  at  me." 

The  Barton  thus  alluded  to  was  the  eminent 
botanist,  Benjamin  Smith  Barton,  who  received 
his  medical  degree  from  the  University  of 
Goettingen  in  the  year  1789.  It  was  in  the 
field  of  Materia  Medica  that  he  won  for  him- 
self the  high  professional  reputation  he  enjoyed 


72  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

in  medicine.  He  was  termed  the  Father  of 
American  Materia  Medica,  an  honor  which 
no  one  hesitated  to  accord  him. 

Woodhouse's  opposition  to  Barton  very  prob- 
ably sprang  from  a  desire  to  please  Rush  to 
whom  he  felt  deeply  obligated. 

This  incident  was,  so  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, the  last  of  those  internal  disturbances 
in  which  Woodhouse  participated.  They  were 
far  from  his  ordinary  attitude  and  likes.  The 
irony  of  fate  often  is  very  striking.  It  was 
so  in  the  instance  of  Barton  and  Rush,  for 
upon  the  demise  of  the  latter,  the  former  was 
chosen  as  his  successor  in  the  chair  of  the 
Practice  of  Physic. 

The  constant  activity  of  Woodhouse  in  chemi- 
cal pursuits,  the  knowledge  that  it  was  possible, 
under  his  direction,  to  conduct  actual  laboratory 
work  had  their  effect.  Not  only  students  of 
medicine,  but  also  students  who  preferred 
chemistry,  seeking  advancement  in  it  alone, 
gradually  caused  a  goodly  company  of  eager, 
capable  young  men  to  gather  around  him  in 
search  of  new  light  in  their  favorite  subject. 
Among  these  was  Robert  Hare,  destined  in 
later  years,  to  become  a  commanding  figure  in 
chemical  and  physical  science,  of  whose  early 
success  Woodhouse  was  enthusiastically  proud 
and  of  whom  he  once  said,  "that  he  was  much 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  73 

gratified  in  witnessing  the  taste  for  Chemistry 
had  rapidly  increased  not  only  among  students 
of  Medicine,  but  also  among  Gentlemen  engaged 
in  other  pursuits" — and  added  that  he  knew 
"few  if  any  who  had  acquired  a  more  accurate 
knowledge  of  Chemistry  than  Robert  Hare." 

And  in  time,  came  Benjamin  Silliman,  from 
New  Haven.  From  his  diary  are  culled  these 
interesting  items.  They  will  aid  us  in  visualiz- 
ing Woodhouse's  work  shop  and  the  happenings 
in  those  days: 

"The  lectures  of  Dr.  James  Woodhouse  .  .  . 
were  given  in  a  small  building  in  South  Fifth 
Street,  opposite  to  the  State-House  yard. 
Above,  over  the  laboratory,  was  the  Anatomical 
Hall.  Neither  of  these  establishments  was 
equal  to  the  dignity  and  importance  of  the 
School,  and  the  accommodations  in  both  were 
limited;  the  lecture  rooms  were  not  capacious 
enough  for  more  than  one  hundred  or  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pupils,  and  there  was  a 
great  deficiency  of  extra  room  for  the  work, 
which  was  limited  to  a  few  closets.  The 
chemical  lectures  were  important  to  me,  who 
had  as  yet  seen  few  chemical  experiments. 
Those  performed  by  Dr.  Woodhouse  were 
valuable,  because  every  fact,  with  its  proof, 
was  an  acquisition  to  me.  The  apparatus 
was  humble,  but  it  answered  to  exhibit  some 


74  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

of  the  most  important  facts  in  the  science; 
and  our  instructor  delighted  in  the  performance 
of  experiments.  He  had  no  proper  assistant, 
and  the  work  was  imperfectly  done;  but  still 
it  was  a  treasure  to  me.  Our  Professor  had  not 
the  gift  of  a  lucid  mind,  nor  of  high  reasoning 
powers,  nor  of  a  fluent  diction;  still,  we  could 
understand  him,  and  I  soon  began  to  interpret 
phenomena  for  myself  and  to  anticipate  the 
explanations.  Dr.  Woodhouse  was  wanting 
in  personal  dignity,  and  was,  out  of  lecture 
hours,  sometimes  jocose  with  the  students. 
He  appeared,  when  lecturing,  as  if  not  quite 
at  his  ease,  as  if  a  little  fearful  that  he  was  not 
highly  appreciated, — as  indeed  he  was  not  very 
highly. 

"In  his  person  he  was  short,  with  a  florid 
face.  He  was  always  dressed  with  care;  gener- 
ally he  wore  a  blue  broadcloth  coat  with  metal 
buttons;  his  hair  was  powdered,  and  his  appear- 
ance was  gentlemanly.  His  lectures  were 
quite  free  from  any  moral  bearing,  nor  as  far 
as  I  can  remember,  did  he  ever  make  use  of 
any  of  the  facts  revealed  by  chemistry,  to 
illustrate  the  character  of  the  Creator  as  seen 
in  His  works.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
course  he  treated  with  levity  and  ridicule 
the  idea  that  the  visitations  of  the  yellow 
fever  (1793)  might  be  visitations  of  God  for 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  75 

the  sins  of  the  people.  He  imputed  them  to 
material  agencies  and  physical  causes — for- 
getting that  physical  causes  may  be  the  moral 
agents  of  the  Almighty.  His  treatment  of 
myself  was  courteous.  I  dined  with  him 
in  his  snug  little  bachelor's  establishment, — 
for  he  had  no  family,  and  a  matron  house- 
keeper superintended  his  small  establishment. 
I  should  add  respecting  his  lectures  that  they 
were  brief.  He  generally  occupied  a  fourth 
or  a  third  of  the  hour  in  recapitulating  the 
subject  of  the  preceding  lecture,  and  thus  he 
advanced  at  the  rate  of  about  forty  or  forty- 
five  minutes  in  a  day." 

It  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  the  statement  of 
Silliman  relative  to  the  non-appreciation  of 
Woodhouse  with  others  previously  cited,  for 
almost  all  other  estimates  of  him  are  very 
complimentary.  Silliman  had  come  out  of 
cold,  stern  New  England,  and  finding  many 
things  in  the  early  capital  of  our  country  so 
vastly  different  from  those  to  which  he  was 
accustomed,  may  have  permitted  his  criticism 
to  extend  even  to  his  teacher,  for  elsewhere 
he  wrote: 

"I  had  not  reason  to  regret  that  I  attended 
on  the  lectures  of  Dr.  Woodhouse.  He  supplied 
the  first  stepping  stones  by  which  I  was  enabled 
at  no  distant  day  to  mount  higher," 


76  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

Caldwell,  whose  picture  of  Woodhouse  is 
drawn  on  another  page  (66),  is  the  authority 
for  the  following  statement: 

"Dr.  Woodhouse's  didactic  lectures  rarely 
occupied,  each  of  them,  more  than  forty  minutes 
.  .  .  and  often  not  near  so  much.  And  when 
interrogated  on  the  subject,  the  reason  he 
rendered  for  such  brevity  was  that  'no  man 
could  dwell,  in  discussion,  on  a  single  topic  more 
than  five  minutes  without  talking  nonsense." 

Caldwell  speaks  in  his  hypercritical  way  of 
Woodhouse's  delivery  "as  dull  and  monoto- 


nous." 


Having  heard  that  students  came  to  Wood- 
house's  laboratory  to  engage  in  laboratory 
instruction  prompts  the  query  as  to  whether 
a  bit  of  injustice  has  not  been  committed  by 
these  two  students — Silliman  and  Caldwell. 
Laboratory  work  is  claimed  as  one  of  the 
great  virtues  of  the  later  chemical  teaching. 
It  is  a  distinguishing  feature  of  modern  scientific 
training;  yet  Woodhouse  resorted  to  this  method. 
It  proved,  in  his  hands,  to  be  a  powerful  attrac- 
tion, and  this  fact  should  be  remembered. 
It  is  one  of  the  directions  in  which  he  figured 
in  the  role  of  pioneer.  It  is  to  be  presumed 
that  there  were  few  if  any  other  laboratories 
of  the  Woodhouse  type.  It  explains  the  presence 
of  Silliman  in  Philadelphia  in  1802-1803-1804. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  77 

Further,  the  value  of  direct  experimentation 
surely  explains  Woodhouse's  reason  for  pub- 
lishing in  1797,  "The  Young  Chemist's  Pocket 
Companion;  connected  with  a  Portable  Labora- 
tory." This,  as  elsewhere  remarked,*  was 
"in  all  probability,  the  first  published  guide 
in  experimentation  for  chemical  students."  It 
afforded  the  means  of  carrying  forward  his 
laboratory  students  with  more  ease.  Anyone 
working  privately  could  easily  pursue  a  most 
valuable  course  with  the  aid  of  this  guide. 
It  deserves  and  will  repay  an  examination  by 
present  day  students  of  chemistry.  Teachers 
cannot  fail  to  be  interested.  It  shows  how 
from  the  humblest  efforts  mighty  results  accrue. 
It  is  an  inspiration.  It  was  a  small  volume, 
covering  just  fifty-six  octavo  pages.  How  it  was 
received  in  1797  is  evident  from  the  review 
which  was  published  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
Medical  Repository  for  that  year: 

"The  performance  before  us  affords  a  new 
proof  of  the  prevalence  of  a  taste  for  chemical 
researches  in  the  United  States.  And  it  is 
one  of  the  circumstances  of  recommendation 
to  the  Young  Chemist's  Pocket  Companion, 
that  it  is  intended  to  advance  the  knowledge 
of  that  science,  by  facilitating  the  means  of 
making  experiments,  and  of  interpreting  and 

*  Chemistry  in  America,  p.  76,  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 


78  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

understanding  them.  So  laudable  are  all 
attempts  of  this  kind,  that  we  cannot  forbear 
thinking  the  author  has  done  service  to  his 
favourite  branch  of  philosophy,  by  the  present 
publication,  which  may  induce  many  persons 
to  make  themselves  acquainted  with  the  chemi- 
cal action  of  bodies,  and  thus  become  able 
experimenters.  Elementary  and  practical  essays 
of  this  kind,  are  highly  useful  for  initiating 
beginners,  and  we  are  pleased  to  find  Professor 
Woodhouse  condescend  to  collect  and  arrange 
a  series  of  experiments,  calculated  to  allure 
the  mind  along  from  object  to  object,  and 
beguile  it,  as  it  were,  into  an  acquaintance 
with  the  principles  of  some  of  the  most  interest- 
ing phenomena  of  Nature. 

"The  author  has  prefixed  to  this  work,  a 
catalogue  of  the  substances  and  apparatus 
for  making  experiments,  contained  in  the  port- 
able chest,  connected  with  it.  And  the  number 
and  variety  of  these  are  such  as  to  permit  a 
great  number  of  experiments  to  be  made. 
A  collection  of  so  many  chemical  preparations, 
in  so  compact  and  handy  an  arrangement, 
may  be  exceedingly  useful  to  almost  every 
person  who  is  fond  of  these  kinds  of  researches. 

"The  number  of  detailed  experiments  which 
Professor  Woodhouse  has  given,  is  one  hundred; 
in  which  he  explains  the  properties  of  air  or 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  79 

gases,  of  alkalies,  of  acids,  of  earths  and  metals. 
The  explanations  are  concise  and  generally 
correct.  At  the  end  of  the  experiments,  is  an 
advertisement  of  the  Professor's  lectures,  given 
annually  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

"As  the  work  is  intended  for  those  who 
wish  to  become  practically  acquainted  with  the 
science  of  chemistry,  we  recommend  it,  and  the 
Portable  Laboratory,  to  the  students  and  culti- 
vators of  experimental  physics;  not  doubting 
that  the  younger  class  of  inquirers  will  be 
considerably  aided  by  it,  especially  if  they 
peruseit,  in  connection  with  such  systemati- 
cal works  as  those  of  Lavoisier,  Fourcroy  and 
Chaptal." 

As  a  matter  of  interest  the  following  abstracts 
from  this  historical  brochure  are  here  intro- 
duced : 

"Of  Iron,"  Woodhouse  writes: 

"Iron  is  a  metal  of  a  white  livid  color; 
obedient  to  the  magnet;  gives  fire  with  the 
flint;  is  susceptible  of  a  fine  polish,  and  is  very 
difficult  of  fusion. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXVI 

"Drop  some  iron  filings  through  the  flame 
of  a  candle,  and  the  metal  will  inflame. 

"The  sulphuric  acid  will  not  act  upon  iron, 
unless  it  is  diluted  with  water. 


80  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"EXPERIMENT  LXVII 

"Put  some  iron  filings  in  a  vial,  and  pour 
upon  them  a  small  quantity  of  the  sulphuric 
acid,  and  no  action  will  ensue. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXVIII 

"Add  a  quantity  of  water,  equal  to  four  or 
five  times  the  bulk  of  the  sulphuric  acid,  to  the 
sulphuric  acid  and  iron  filings,  and  a  high  degree 
of  heat  will  be  evolved,  and  a  discharge  of 
foetid  hydrogenous  gas  will  take  place,  as  may 
be  proved  by  applying  a  lighted  taper  to  the 
mouth  of  the  vial. 

"The  salt  formed  by  the  union  of  the  acid 
and  metal,  is  sulphate  of  iron,  green  vitriol  or 
copperas. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXIX 

"Let  fall  a  few  drops  of  this  solution  of  iron 
into  some  water  in  a  wine  glass,  and  add  a 
small  quantity  of  the  solution  of  potash  to  it, 
and  the  iron  will  be  precipitated. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXX 

"Add  a  few  drops  of  the  sulphuric  acid  to 
the  precipitated  iron,  and  sulphate  of  iron  will 
be  recomposed. 

"Black  ink  is  made  by  an  union  of  the  gallic 
acid  and  iron,  which  form  a  black  insoluble 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  81 

salt,  that  is  kept  suspended  in  water,  by  the 
addition  of  a  gummy  matter. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXI 

"Let  fall  a  few  drops  of  the  solution  of  sul- 
phate of  iron,  into  a  wine  glass  containing  some 
water,  to  which  add  a  few  drops  of  the  alcohol 
of  galls,  and  a  black  color  will  be  produced. 

"The  gallic  acid  of  the  alkohol  of  galls, 
unites  to  the  iron,  and  forms  a  black  insoluble 
salt. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXII 

"Add  a  few  drops  of  the  sulphuric,  nitric, 
or  muriatic  acid,  to  the  precipitated  iron,  and 
it  will  be  redissolved,  and  a  sulphate,  nitrate, 
or  muriate  of  iron  will  be  formed. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXIII 

"Pour  a  small  quantity  of  the  solution  of 
sulphate  of  iron,  into  a  wine  glass  containing 
water,  and  add  to  it  a  few  drops  of  the  sul- 
phuric, nitric,  or  muriatic  acid,  and  no  change 
will  take  place.  Let  fall  a  few  drops  of  the 
alcohol  of  galls  into  the  solution,  and  there 
will  still  be  no  alteration.  Pour  in  some  of  the 
solution  of  pot-ash,  and  the  mixture  will  assume 
a  black  color. 

"The  mineral  acids  prevent  the  action  of 
the  gallic  acid  on  the  iron,  by  having  a  superior 


82  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

attraction  to  the  metal.  The  pot-ash  neu- 
tralises them,  and  so  permits  the  gallic  acid  to 
unite  with  the  iron. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXIV 

"Write  on  paper  with  the  solution  of  the 
sulphate  of  iron  and  dry  the  letters;  and  they 
will  be  invisible.  Dip  the  end  of  a  feather 
into  the  alcohol  of  galls,  and  rub  it  over  the 
letters,  and  they  will  become  black. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXV 

"Dip  the  end  of  a  feather  into  the  sulphuric, 
nitric,  or  muriatic  acid,  diluted  with  water, 
and  rub  it  over  the  letters,  and  they  will  dis- 
appear. 

"Prussian  blue  is  a  combination  of  the 
prussic  acid  and  iron.  The  prussiate  of  lime 
is  made,  by  digesting  lime  water  upon  this 
substance. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXVI 

"Put  two  drachms  of  the  best  Prussian 
blue,  in  fine  powder,  into  an  eight  ounce  vial, 
and  fill  it  up  with  lime  water.  Let  the  mixture 
stand  near  the  fire,  and  in  a  short  time  the  lime 
water  will  be  tinged  yellow. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXVII 
"Let  fall  a  few  drops  of  the  solution  of  sul- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  83 

phate  of  iron  into  some  water  in  a  wine  glass, 
and  add  to  it  a  small  portion  of  the  prussiate 
of  lime,  and  a  blue  color  will  be  produced. 

"The  prussic  acid  of  the  prussiate  of  lime, 
unites  to  the  iron,  and  forms  a  blue  insoluble 
compound,  while  the  sulphuric  acid  of  the 
sulphate  of  iron,  unites  to  the  lime  and  forms 
sulphate  of  lime. 

"Prussiate  of  pot-ash,  is  composed  of  the 
prussic  acid  and  pot-ash. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXVIII 

"Put  two  drachms  of  the  best  Prussian  blue 
into  a  four  ounce  vial,  and  add  to  it  one  drachm 
of  caustic  pot-ash,  dissolved  in  three  ounces 
of  water;  set  the  mixture  near  the  fire,  and 
in  a  short  time  the  liquor  will  become  a  yellow 
color. 

"The  pot-ash  unites  to  the  prussic  acid, 
of  the  prussiate  of  iron,  and  forms  prussiate  of 
pot-ash,  while  the  iron  is  left  behind  in  the  form 
of  a  brown  salt. 

"This  solution  contains  a  portion  of  iron, 
which  may  be  set  free,  by  the  addition  of  an 
acid. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXIX 

"Add  a  few  drops  of  the  sulphuric,  nitric 
or  muriatic  acid,  to  some  of  the  prussiate  of 


84  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

pot-ash  in  a  wine  glass,  and  the  iron  will  be 
thrown  down  of  a  blue  color. 

"The  acids  combine  with  the  pot-ash,  by 
which  means  the  prussic  acid  is  detached  from 
its  alkaline  base,  and  permitted  to  act  on  the 
iron,  held  in  solution  in  the  liquor. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXX 

"Write  upon  paper,  with  the  solution  of  the 
sulphate  of  iron,  as  in  the  seventy  fourth  experi- 
ment. 

"EXPERIMENT  LXXXI 

"Dip  the  end  of  a  feather  in  the  prussiate 
of  pot-ash,  and  rub  it  over  the  letters  written 
with  the  sulphate  of  iron,  and  they  will  become 
of  a  blue  color." 


The  laboratory  of  the  Chemical  Society  of 
Philadelphia  had  invited  citizens  of  the  Republic 
to  forward  to  it  any  "fossils"  upon  which  they 
wished  information  and  as  President  Wood- 
house  was  active  in  the  work  of  the  laboratory 
there  fell  to  his  lot  a  rock  from  North  Carolina, 
submitted  by  Rev.  James  Hall.  This  was  in 
the  year  1798.  Woodhouse's  examination  and 
reply  to  Hall  were  published  in  the  Medical 
Repository.  They  are  so  intensely  interesting, 
particularly  to  the  master  of  chemical  analysis, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  85 

that  the  communication  is  submitted  in  una- 
bridged form : 

"SlR, 

"I  have  read  your  account  of  a  supposed 
artificial  wall,  discovered  under  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  in  North  Carolina,  with  great 
attention. 

"I  am  well  satisfied,  from  several  specimens 
of  the  stones  which  I  have  seen  composing 
this  wall,  that  it  consists  of  a  mineral  substance 
called  basaltes,  and  that  it  is  a  production 
of  nature,  and  not  of  art. 

"My  reasons  for  this  opinion  are  as  follows: 

"The  stones  answer  the  description  of  basaltes 
given  by  various  writers.  They  are  found  of 
an  irregular  form,  in  prisms  consisting  of  several 
sides,  are  of  different  sizes;  some  being  so  small 
as  to  weigh  no  more  than  one  ounce,  while 
the  others  exceed  the  weight  of  twelve  pounds. 
The  angles  fit  each  other  exactly  like  the 
basaltes,  and  appear  as  if  joined  by  the  hand 
of  a  skilful  workman. 

"There  is  a  brown  ochreous  matter  found 
upon  the  surface  of  these  stones,  exactly  like 
that  on  some  of  the  basaltes  of  other  countries. 
This  ochre  arises  from  a  chemical  decomposi- 
tion of  the  stone,  called  by  some  spontaneous 
calcination,  and  by  others  efflorescence. 


86  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"The  decomposition  is  owing  to  the  iron 
contained  in  the  stones,  and  its  calcination  by 
air  and  water. 

"Fourcroy  has  improperly  attributed  the 
brown  crust  with  which  the  stones  are  covered, 
to  water  depositing  different  kinds  of  earth 
between  the  sides  of  the  basaltic  columns; 
and  in  Nicholson's  Chemical  Dictionary  it  is 
called  cement  with  equal  impropriety.  Columns 
of  the  Giant's  Causeway,  says  the  compiler 
of  the  Dictionary,  fit  accurately  together, 
being,  in  some  instances,  united  by  a  strong 
cement. 

"That  the  brown  crust  which  adheres  to  the 
stones,  and  the  fine  white  friable  matter  with 
which  you  suppose  the  wall  has  been  plastered, 
are  owing  to  chemical  decomposition,  appears 
evident  from  the  following  circumstances:  If 
the  brown  ochre  is  carefully  scraped  off  from  the 
stone,  the  surface  will  be  found  to  be  not  of  so 
firm  a  texture  as  the  internal  part;  and  the 
white  powder,  brown  crust,  and  internal  part 
of  the  stone,  are  composed  of  the  same  principle, 
in  nearly  the  same  proportions. 

"In  some  countries  the  basaltes  are  so  much 
calcined  as  to  fall  to  pieces  on  being  removed. 

"The  regularity  of  the  wall,  and  the  number 
of  small  stones  which  appear  as  if  slipped  in 
between  the  ends  of  the  stones,  are  no  proofs 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  87 

of  its  being  a  production  of  art.  The  basaltes, 
in  Italy,  appear  like  piles  of  wood  of  equal 
thickness  throughout,  and  extend  to  a  con- 
siderable distance.  The  small  stones  may  have 
been  carried  down  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth  by  rain,  and  deposited  in  the  places 
where  they  are  now  found. 

"I  do  not  suppose  that  the  rock  which 
embraces  the  wall,  and  which,  from  the  specimen 
you  have  shewn  me,  is  granite,  was  formed 
after  the  wall,  granite  being  among  the  first 
formed  substances  in  nature.  The  rock  has 
probably  been  burst  asunder  by  the  wall, 
which  is,  perhaps,  of  volcanic  origin. 

"In  Cronstedt's  Mineralogy  there  is  an 
account,  by  Mr.  Latrobe,  of  a  rock  of  granite 
in  Upper  Lusatia,  which  has  been  rent  asunder 
by  a  vein  of  concentric  basaltes.  In  Italy 
basaltes  are  often  found  resting  upon  a  bed 
of  granite. 

"That  there  have  been  volcanoes  in  North 
Carolina  appears  from  some  specimens  of  lava 
sent  from  that  part  to  this  city. 

"The  following  experiments  were  made  in 
order  to  ascertain  the  component  parts  of  the 
American  basaltes: 

"EXPERIMENT  I 
"One    hundred    grains    of    the    solid    stones 


88  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

were  reduced  into  an  impalpable  powder,  and 
boiled  half  an  hour  in  half  an  ounce  of  nitric 
acid,  diluted  with  one  ounce  of  water.  The 
whole  was  placed  upon  a  filter,  and  distilled 
water  was  added  until  it  passed  through  the 
filter — insipid  to  the  taste.  The  powder  re- 
maining upon  the  filter  was  siliceous  earth, 
and  when  dry,  weighed  exactly  fifty-eight 
grains. 

"EXPERIMENT  II 

"A  solution  of  potash  was  added  to  the 
fluid  which  passed  through  the  filter  until  no 
precipitation  took  place.  The  precipitated 
matter  was  carefully  washed  in  a  large  quantity 
of  distilled  water,  and,  when  dried,  weighed 
forty  grains. 

"EXPERIMENT  IV 

"That  part  of  the  dried  precipitate,  men- 
tioned in  the  second  experiment,  which  was 
not  acted  upon  by  the  vinegar,  weighed  twenty- 
nine  grains.  It  was  dissolved  in  diluted  nitric 
acid,  and  a  solution  of  the  prussiate  of  potash 
was  added  until  no  precipitation  took  place. 
The  prussiate  of  iron  was  separated  by  a  filter, 
boiled  in  a  solution  of  pot-ash,  washed  well 
with  distilled  water,  and  dried,  when  it  weighed 
ten  grains. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  89 

"EXPERIMENT  V 

"A  solution  of  pot-ash  was  added  to  the 
filtered  liquor  of  the  last  experiment,  until  no 
precipitation  took  place.  The  precipitate,  which 
was  alumine,  was  well  washed  in  distilled  water, 
and  when  dry,  weighed  sixteen  grains. 

"The  proportions  of  the  ingredients  composing 
the  American  basaltes,  from  these  experiments, 
are  fifty-eight  parts  of  siliceous  earth,  sixteen 
of  argillaceous,  three  of  magnesia,  and  ten 
of  iron,  which  added  together,  make  eighty- 
seven.  Counting  two  grains  lost  in  the  first 
experiment,  and  five  in  the  other,  we  will 
have  ninety -four  grains,  which,  with  six  allowed 
for  the  lime,  will  make  one  hundred  grains. 

"One  hundred  grains  of  the  white  friable 
matter  called  cement,  and  the  same  quantity 
of  the  ochreous  crust,  when  subjected  to  the 
same  kind  of  experiments,  gave  the  following 
result: 

SIUEX    ALUUJNE     LIMB    MAO.    IBOH         LOBS 

White  friable  powder.  ..55  16  5  3  12  9 
Brown  ochreous  crust ...  54  15  6  3  11  11 
Powdered  stone .58  16  6  3  10  7 

"Upon  comparing  this  analysis  with  those  of 
Bergman,  Mongez,  and  Faujas  de  Saint  Fond, 
no  great  difference  will  be  found  in  the  propor- 
tion of  the  ingredients  composing  the  American 
basaltes  and  those  of  other  countries. 


90  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"Analysis  by  Bergman,  Mongez,  Faujas  de 
Saint  Fond: 

Silex 52        56  46 

Argillaceous  earth 15        15  80 

Lime 8          4  10 

Iron 25        25  8 

6  Magnesia 

100      100      100 

"This  wall  is  certainly  a  great  curiosity, 
and,  will  afford  ample  room  for  the  speculation 
of  philosophers. 

"I  should  be  happy  to  receive  any  further 
information  upon  the  subject. 

"I  am,  Sir,  with  the  greatest  respect, 

"Your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"JAMES  WOODHOUSE 
"Rev.  James  Hall, 

June,  1798" 


Chemists  who  have  had  occasion  to  study 
Klaproth's  Beitrdge  zur  chemischen  Kenntniss 
der  Mineralkorper  will  not  regard  the  observa- 
tions of  Woodhouse  as  unworthy  of  attention. 
They  reveal  the  crude  state  of  analysis  existing 
then;  but  despite  this  they  are  worth  recording. 
Any  student  of  present  day  analysis  will  see 
merit  in  this  early  work. 

The  report  of  Woodhouse  called  forth  objec- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  91 

tions  from  the  Rev.  Zechariah  Lewis.  In  reply, 
Woodhouse  addressed  him,  through  the  editors 
of  the  Medical  Repository,  in  these  words: 

"GENTLEMEN, 

"If  Mr.  Zeehariah  Lewis  had  seen  my  reply 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hall's  account  of  the  celebrated 
subterranean  wall  of  North  Carolina,  published 
in  the  Medical  Repository,  vol.  ii,  p.  275,  he 
could  not  have  asserted,  that  the  opinion  that 
the  wall  was  basaltic  was  hastily  adopted,  from 
a  single  corresponding  property  having  been 
discovered  between  the  stones  composing  the 
wall  and  basaltes.  When  he  reads  that  reply, 
he  will  find  various  reasons  brought  forward 
in  support  of  the  opinion  there  advanced; 
several  authors  who  have  written  on  the  subject 
in  question  quoted;  an  accurate  analysis  made 
of  the  external  and  internal  part  of  the  stones, 
and  of  what  is  improperly  called  the  cement, 
and  compared  with  the  results  of  the  experi- 
ments of  Bergman,  Mongez,  and  Faujas  de 
Saint  Fond,  on  the  basaltes  of  other  countries. 

"Having  made  these  necessary  observations, 
I  will  proceed  to  consider  the  arguments  pro- 
duced by  Mr.  Lewis,  to  prove,  that  the  wall 
is  a  production  of  art. 

"  First.  It  may  be  remarked,  that  the  opinion 
that  the  wall  was  constructed  by  some  en- 


92  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

lightened  antediluvian  nation,  or  some  civilized 
people,  who  may  have  wandered  from  the 
eastern  continent;  or  that  it  was  built  for  the 
purpose  of  inclosing  a  prison,  a  garden,  or  a  city; 
or  that  the  small  stream  which  runs  near  the 
wall  was  once  a  large  river,  and  that  the  wall 
was  erected  to  guard  against  the  rise  of  its 
waters,  has  no  foundation  but  in  the  imagination 
of  the  reverend  writer. 

"Secondly.  He  thinks  that  the  fine  white 
powder,  called  cement,  with  which  the  wall 
is  supposed  to  have  been  plastered,  may  have 
been  manufactured  from  the  shells  of  muscles, 
great  quantities  of  which  are  found  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  wall.  Mr.  Probly,  he  says, 
assured  him,  that  he  burnt  the  shells,  dried 
the  cement,  and  upon  comparing  the  two, 
could  find  no  difference  between  them. 

"Muscle  shells,  exposed  to  the  action  of  fire, 
are  almost  entirely  converted  into  quick  lime; 
but  in  one  hundred  parts  of  this  cement,  there 
is  no  more  than  five  parts  of  this  earth.  Muscle 
shells  contain  no  iron,  but  there  is  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  metal  in  the  cement. 

"One  hundred  grains  of  these  shells  will  not 
afford,  like  the  cement,  fifty-five  grains  of 
silex,  sixteen  of  alumine,  and  three  of  magnesia. 
Mr.  Probly  has  not  favoured  us  with  any  chemi- 
cal experiments,  to  prove  that  there  is  no 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  93 

difference  between  burnt  muscle  shells  and  the 
cement;  the  only  proper  method  of  proving 
a  similarity  between  these  bodies. 

"Thirdly.  At  a  small  distance  from  the 
wall,  Mr.  Lewis  informs  us,  there  is  a  species 
of  clay  resembling  fuller's  earth  of  which  the 
cement  may  likewise  have  been  made.  What 
is  called  fuller's  earth,  never  turns  of  a  white 
colour  like  the  cement;  and  the  clays  of  this 
country,  with  few  exceptions,  burn  of  a  red 
colour.  The  cement  retains  its  whiteness, 
when  exposed  to  a  heat  insufficient  to  melt  it. 
In  order  to  prove  that  the  cement  is  composed 
of  fuller's  earth,  or  this  kind  of  earth  mixed 
with  burnt  muscle  shells,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  show  that  a  mechanical  mixture  of  these 
substance  gives  the  same  principles  by  analysis 
as  the  cement. 

"Fourthly.  He  says  the  wall  is  perfectly 
regular,  and  has  every  possible  appearance 
of  an  artificial  production. 

"In  my  letter  to  Mr.  Hall  it  was  expressly 
mentioned,  that  the  regularity  of  the  wall 
was  no  proof  of  its  being  a  production  of  art; 
for  the  basaltes  of  Italy  appear  like  piles  of 
wood,  of  equal  thickness  throughout,  and  extend 
to  a  considerable  distance. 

"The  following  account  of  the  cave  of  Fingal, 
extracted  from  Garnet's  tour  through  Scotland, 


94  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

will  show  how  little  regularity  of  the  wall  con- 
tributes to  prove  that  it  has  been  the  production 
of  a  civilized  people. 

'As  we  turned  the  southern  point  of  the 
island  of  Staffa,  the  basaltic  pillars  became 
vastly  more  regular,  and  the  view  of  this  side 
of  the  island  was  grand  beyond  conception: 
it  appeared  like  the  end  of  an  immense  cathedral, 
whose  massy  roof  was  supported  by  stupendous 
pillars,  formed  with  all  the  regularity  of  art. 
Proceeding  still  further  along  the  same  side 
of  the  island,  we  had  a  view  of  Fingal's  cave, 
one  of  the  most  magnificent  sights  the  eye 
ever  beheld.  It  appears  like  the  inside  of  a 
cathedral,  of  immense  size,  but  superior  to  any 
work  of  art,  in  grandeur  and  sublimity,  and 
equal  to  any  in  regularity. 

"  'Regularity  is  the  only  part  in  which  art 
pretends  to  excel  nature;  but  here  nature  has 
shewn,  that  when  she  pleases  she  can  set  man 
at  nought,  even  in  this  respect,  and  make 
him  sensible  of  his  own  littleness.  Her  works 
are,  in  general,  distinguished  by  a  grand  sub- 
limity, in  which  she  disdains  the  similar  position 
of  parts,  called  by  mankind,  regularity,  but 
which,  in  fact,  may  be  another  name  for 
narrowness  of  conception,  and  poverty  of 
idea;  but  here  in  a  playful  mood,  on  a  scale 
so  immense,  as  to  make  all  the  temples  built 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  95 

by  the  hand  of  man  hide  their  diminished 
heads.'  " 

"Dr.  Van  Triol,  speaking  on  the  same  sub- 
ject, says — 'This  piece  of  nature's  architecture 
far  surpassed  every  thing  that  invention,  luxury, 
or  taste,  ever  produced  among  the  Greeks.' 

"Fifthly.  An  extract  is  made  from  the 
British  Encyclopaedia,  to  show  that  basaltes 
is  always  found  standing  up  in  the  form  of 
regular  angular  columns. 

"This  is  not  true.  The  strata  of  the  basaltes 
of  some  parts  of  France  run  in  an  horizontal 
direction.*  Mr.  Strange  in  an  essay  published 
in  the  sixty -fifth  volume  of  the  London  Philo- 
sophical Transactions,  asserts,  that  they  some- 
times are  found  running  in  this  manner. 

"Sixthly.  He  says  there  is  nothing  between 
the  basaltic  columns  of  other  countries,  resem- 
bling the  cement  of  the  wall. 

"This  observation  is  not  just.  A  cement 
of  a  beautiful  white  colour  is  found  between 
the  basaltic  pillars,  in  the  cave  of  Fingal.f 

"Seventhly.  It  is  another  property  of  ba- 
saltes, adds  he,  that  it  is  fusible,  per  se,  by  a 
moderate  fire.  This  is  not  the  fact  with  the 
wall,  consequently  it  cannot  be  basaltes. 

"To  this  I  reply,  that  I  have  fused  the  stones 

•Historic  Naturelle  de  la  France  Meridionale,  par  M.  L'Abbe  Giraud  Soulavie,  torn. 
U.  p.  69. 

f  Garnet's  Tour  through  the  Highlands,  p.  224. 


96  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

of  the  wall,  in  half  an  hour,  with  the  greatest 
ease,  and  that  they  melt  into  a  black  glass. 

"Eighthly.  Neither  stones,  nor  other  mineral 
substances,  our  author  informs  us,  are  covered 
with  rust,  unless  they  have  been  exposed  to 
the  action  of  the  aerial  acid.  On  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  wall  is  basaltes,  the  individual 
stones  could  never  have  been  exposed  to  the 
air.  The  stones  are  covered  with  rust,  conse- 
quently the  wall  cannot  be  basaltes. 

"The  first  part  of  this  observation  is  not 
accurate.  Mr.  Lewis  has  not  proved,  that 
the  rust  of  the  stones  contains  the  aerial  acid, 
which  he  ought  not  to  have  taken  for  granted. 
The  word  rust  is  a  vague  term,  and  conveys 
no  precise  idea  to  the  mind.  The  brown  ochreous 
matter,  with  which  the  stones  are  covered, 
has  been  formed  by  the  agency  of  water,  acting 
upon  the  iron  they  contain,  which  has  decom- 
posed or  calcined  them.  The  aerial  acid  has 
no  action  in  the  business.  The  same  kind 
of  rust  is  found  on  the  basaltes  of  other  coun- 
tries.* 

"Ninthly.  The  stones  composing  the  wall 
are  certainly  basaltic,  as  every  mineralogist 
can  tell  by  inspecting  them,  because  they 
exactly  answer  the  description  of  basaltes  given 

'French   Encyclopaedia,     and   Nicholson's    Chemical    Dictionary— article    BauOte*. 
Vide  also  Fourcroy'a  Chemistry. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  97 

by  various  writers;  and  because  the  white 
powder,  improperly  called  cement,  the  external 
and  internal  parts  of  the  stones,  contain  the 
same  principles,  and  nearly  in  the  same  pro- 
portions as  the  basaltes  of  other  countries. 

"I  shall  conclude  this  letter,  by  remarking, 
that  the  supposition  that  the  North  Carolina 
wall  has  been  constructed  by  an  enlightened 
antediluvian  nation,  is  as  unphilosophical  as 
the  belief  of  some  of  the  common  people  of 
Scotland,  that  the  cave  of  Fingal  is  artificial, 
and  was  built  by  a  race  of  giants,  for  their 
celebrated  chief,  Fion-Mac-Cool,  the  father  of 
Ossian. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be, 

"  Gentlemen, 

"Yours  sincerely, 
"JAMES  WOODHOUSE." 

Some  years  afterwards  (1803),  Woodhouse 
felt  called  upon  to  advert  again  to  the  com- 
ments of  the  Rev.  Lewis.  This  was  done 
through  the  Medical  Repository. 

"GENTLEMEN: 

"Since  my  return  from  Europe  to  America, 
I  have  not  met  with  anything  which  has  afforded 
me  more  entertainment  than  the  reply  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Lewis  to  my  letter  concerning  the 
subterranean  wall  of  North  Carolina.  When 


98  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

this  subject  was  brought  before  the  public, 
in  the  year  1798,  two  questions  were  involved: 

"First.  Whether  the  stones  composing  the 
wall  were  basaltic:  and, 

"Secondly.  Whether  the  wall  was  a  pro- 
duction of  nature  or  of  art. 

"In  a  postscript  to  a  letter  of  Mr.  Lewis's 
published  in  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Medical 
Repository,  p.  233,  he  pronounces  in  the  most 
positive  manner,  that  the  stones  composing 
it  are  not  basaltic.  He  concludes  his  remarks, 
in  four  places,  in  the  following  words:  'conse- 
quently the  wall  cannot  be  basaltes.'  But 
in  his  reply  to  my  observations,  in  the  fifth 
volume,  p.  404,  he  says,  'the  question  in  dispute 
is  not,  whether  the  materials  are  basaltic,  but 
whether  the  wall  is  a  work  of  art  or  of  nature.' 

"It  is  not  my  intention  to  bring  forward 
any  arguments,  in  addition  to  those  already 
published,  to  prove  that  this  wall  is  basaltic. 
A  mineralogist  can  distinguish  basaltes  from 
any  other  stone  merely  by  inspecting  them, 
as  well  as  any  other  person  can  tell  an  apple 
from  an  orange,  a  pear  from  a  peach,  or  any 
one  of  the  common  productions  of  nature  from 
another. 

"The  chemical  analysis,  likewise,  of  the 
solid  stones,  and  what  is  improperly  called  rust 
and  cement,  demonstrates  in  a  satisfactory 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  99 

manner,  to  chemists,  that  the  stones  are  basaltic 
and  there  can  be  no  appeal  from  the  experi- 
ments, except  by  showing  that  they  have  been 
made  in  an  improper  manner. 

"Mr.  Lewis  asserted,  on  authority  which 
he  says  is  too  direct  and  respectable  to  admit, 
for  a  moment,  a  doubt  of  its  correctness,  that 
I  reported,  after  his  reading  my  reply  to  his 
letter,  that  he  was  convinced  of  his  error,  and 
had  published  a  retraction  of  his  sentiments. 
No  such  report  ever  was  propagated  by  me. 
When  in  New  York,  in  the  year  1801,  I  was 
informed  that  he  did  not  relish  my  reply; 
and  I  might  have  said  that  he  would  regret 
having  written  any  thing  upon  the  subject 
of  the  wall;  for  so  powerful  is  self-love,  that 
few  men  are  pleased  with  being  caught  in  an 
error,  or  with  having  their  opinions  publicly 
called  in  question,  much  less  with  having 
them  refuted. 

"Thus,  in  the  year  1712,  Dr.  Cotton  Mather, 
having  inspected  some  large  fossil  bones  and 
teeth,  found  at  Albany,  in  New  York,  wrote 
to  his  friend,  Dr.  John  Woodward,  in  England, 
that  they  belonged  to  American  giants,  whom 
he  supposed  to  have  existed  before  the  deluge, 
and  of  whose  height  he  made  a  calculation.* 

•Philosophical  Transactions  for  1713  and  1714,  Vol.  XXVIII  or   the   Abridgment, 
Vol.  V,  Part  2. 


100  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"Were  this  gentleman  now  alive,  and  were 
he  to  behold  the  skeleton  of  the  mammoth  in 
Mr.  Peale's  museum  in  this  city,  he  would  be 
convinced  that  they  were  really  the  bones  and 
teeth  of  a  similar  huge  quadruped;  and  he 
might  feel  a  little  mortified  that  he  had  ever 
written  to  Europe  that  they  belonged  to 
the  Brobdignagian  biped  of  the  antediluvian 
world. 

"An  accurate  account  of  this  celebrated 
wall  will  form  an  important  article  in  the 
mineralogical  history  of  this  country;  and 
Mr.  Lewis  will  oblige  the  friends  of  science 
by  devoting  a  part  of  his  time  to  a  further 
investigation  of  this  curious  subject. 

"As  he  has  found  out  that  the  stones  compos- 
ing it  are  not  basaltic,  that  the  decomposed 
granite,  which  embraces  it,  and  of  which  speci- 
mens were  brought  to  Philadelphia  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Hall,  and  one  of  which  is  now  before  me,  is 
nothing  but  'sand  and  gravel';  he  will,  perhaps, 
next  discover  that  the  supposed  cement  with 
which  the  sides  of  it  are  covered  is  the  plaster  of 
Paris. 

"If  he  does,  I  will  believe  with  him  that 
the  wall  was  built  by  antediluvians,  to  enclose 
a  garden,  a  prison,  or  a  city,  or  for  any  other 
purpose  which  he  pleases. 

"I  thus,  gentlemen,  take  leave  of  the  wall, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  1<H 

and  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis;   and  am  with  great 
respect,  "  Yours  sincerely, 

"JAMES  WOODHOUSE" 


That  the  problems  considered  by  Woodhouse 
varied  in  their  nature  is  shown,  for  example, 
in  a  contribution  made  by  him  (1799)  on  the 
non-action  of  nitric  acid  on  the  metals,  silver, 
copper,  and  tin.  Having  occasion  to  prepare 
silver  nitrate  "several  thin  pieces  of  silver 
were  digested  forty-eight  hours,  in  a  small 
quantity  of  the  most  pure  and  concentrated 
acid,  prepared  by  distilling  strong  sulphuric 
acid  in  nitre,  from  which  the  water  of  crystal- 
lization had  been  thrown  off  by  means  of 
heat,  and  the  metal  was  not  dissolved.  The 
temperature  of  the  air  varied  between  75  and 
90  degrees  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer." 

This  behavior  greatly  surprised  Woodhouse. 
It  was  quite  contrary  to  his  expectations. 
"According  to  the  chemists  of  all  nations" 
the  nitric  acid  should  have  dissolved  the  silver 
"with  the  utmost  rapidity."  It  occurred  to 
him  that  the  non-action  of  the  acid  might  be 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  metal  was  "in  small 
masses."  Accordingly  the  "filings  of  silver 
were  tried,  but  no  solution  took  place  in  the 
space  of  two  days."  His  mind  was  set  some- 


'102  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

what  at  rest  in  a  very  simple  manner:  "having 
then  added  a  small  quantity  of  water  to  the 
acid,  the  silver  was  dissolved  in  a  few  minutes." 

This,  now  familiar,  behavior  of  metals  with 
this  particular  acid  is  here  set  forth  for  the 
first  time,  but  cautiously  Woodhouse  proceeds 
to  ascertain  whether  the  same  deportment 
would  be  observed  with  other  metals;  and 
selecting  copper  continues;  "nitric  acid  was 
poured  upon  copper  and  no  action  was  pro- 
duced; but,  upon  the  addition  of  water,  solution 
immediately  commenced,  and  oxygenous  and 
nitrous  air  were  discharged;  the  latter  holding 
a  portion  of  the  copper  in  solution,  as  appeared 
by  immersing  a  lighted  taper  in  the  nitrous 
acid  gas,  when  it  burned  with  an  enlarged, 
vivid  and  blue  flame.  The  flame  of  the  taper 
was  frequently  blown  out,  and  rekindled  by 
dipping  it  into  the  air." 

Not  fully  satisfied,  he  drew  tin  into  the  circle 
of  experimentation  and  investigation,  after  which 
he  was  constrained  to  write:  "some  concen- 
trated nitric  acid  was  then  poured  upon  tin 
foil,  when  it  remained  in  a  quiescent  state  for 
one  week;  but  upon  the  addition  of  water, 
the  whole  was  instantly  converted  into  a  white 
oxyd,  with  the  production  of  a  high  degree  of 
heat." 

There  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  Wood- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  103 

house  was  more  or  less  perturbed  by  these 
observations ;  yet  he  knew  no  reason  to  question 
their  correctness,  and  boldly  declared: 

"The  errors  of  chemists,  in  regard  to  the 
action  of  nitric  acid  upon  tin,  will  be  seen  more 
clearly  by  extracting  what  has  been  said  upon 
the  subject. 

"Chaptal  tells  us  the  nitric  acid  devours  tin, 
that  the  decomposition  is  speedy,  and  that  the 
metal  is  instantly  precipitated  in  the  form  of  a 
white  oxyd.  The  same  author  says,  Mr.  Baume 
even  pretends  that  the  nitric  does  not  dissolve 
tin;  but  Kunckel  and  the  famous  Rouelle 
have  maintained  the  contrary. 

"Fourcroy  declares  that  tin  decomposes  nitric 
acid,  even  in  the  cold,  with  amazing  rapidity, 
and  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  astonishingly 
rapid  solutions  in  all  chemistry. 

"From  what  has  been  said,  it  appears  that 
Mr.  Baume  is  right,  and  that  Fourcroy,  Ghaptal, 
Rouelle,  and  Kunckel,  used  an  acid  diluted 
with  water." 

Aware  that  his  observations  would  arouse 
inquiry  as  to  the  course  of  the  reaction  he 
immediately  put  to  himself  this  query:  "In 
what  manner  does  water  act  in  these  experi- 
ments?" 

"Dr.  Priestley  supposes  that  no  air  can  be 
produced  without  water,  and  that  it  is  neces- 


104  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

sary  to  the  constitution  of  every  kind  of  air; 
but  this  throws  little  light  upon  the  subject, 
and  does  not  account  for  the  manner  in  which 
water  acts  in  promoting  the  solution  of  silver, 
copper,  and  tin,  in  the  nitric  acid;  and  nitrous 
air  may  be  obtained  from  zinc  and  bismuth 
by  the  acid,  however  concentrated. 

"It  may  be  supposed,  that  the  water  merely 
produces  heat  by  uniting  with  the  acid,  and 
so  dissolves  the  metals;  but  this  is  not  the 
case;  for  if  the  acid  is  diluted  with  water,  and 
stands  until  it  is  cool,  it  will  speedily  dissolve 
them. 

"It  is  a  common  thing  with  the  teachers  of 
chemistry  to  fold  up  a  portion  of  the  dry  nitrate 
of  copper  in  the  tinfoil,  and  to  let  it  remain, 
for  some  time,  in  contact  with  the  tin,  to 
show  that  it  will  not  act  upon  the  metal  in 
the  dry  state.  The  tinfoil  is  then  unfolded, 
and  a  little  water  is  added  to  the  nitrate  of 
copper,  and  it  is  again  enclosed  in  the  tin, 
when  a  violent  action  ensues,  accompanied 
with  sparks  of  fire,  and  a  discharge  of  nitrous  air. 

"The  intention  of  this  experiment  is  to  show 
that  bodies  do  not  act  upon  each  other  in  a 
dry  state — corpora  non  agunt  nisi  soluta.  But 
from  the  experiments  which  have  been  related, 
of  the  non-action  of  the  nitric  acid  on  tin, 
the  explanation  of  what  takes  place  must  be 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  105 

sought  for  in  the  action  of  water  on  the  nitric 
acid  of  the  nitrate  of  copper. 

"Some  writers  have  taken  notice  of  the 
production  of  ammoniac,  when  nitrous  acid 
is  added  to  copper  and  tin.  As  the  concen- 
trated acid  has  no  action  on  these  metals, 
the  ammoniac  must  be  produced  by  the  hydrogen 
of  the  water  uniting  with  the  azote  of  the 
nitric  acid,  while  its  oxygen,  and  that  of  the 
water,  unites  to  the  tin  and  copper,  and  con- 
verts them  into  oxyds. 

"Having  related  these  facts,  the  language 
of  chemists,  in  the  future,  ought  to  be — The 
nitric  acid  has  no  action  on  silver,  copper,  and 
tin;  but  if  water  be  added  to  the  acid,  solution 
speedily  takes  place. 

"Dr.  Hope  has  taken  notice  of  the  non- 
action  of  the  nitric  acid  on  strontian  earth; 
and  Mr.  Leonhardi  tells  us,  that  it  quickly 
destroys  wool  and  silk,  but  that  linen  may 
remain  immersed  in  a  bottle  of  the  strong  acid 
a  whole  day  without  injury." 

Today,  the  youngest  chemist  would  promptly 
explain  these  reactions.  The  science  was  long 
in  comprehending  them  and  present-day  dis- 
sociation theories  would  have  staggered  Wood- 
house.  His  communication  might  be  called 
worthless  by  some.  Would  they  not  err  in  so 
designating  it?  Is  it  not  rather  to  be  prized 


106  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

because  it  is  a  sign  board  indicating  the  road 
or  path  by  which  chemists  have  arrived  at 
their  present  views? 

Some  years  later  (1801)  there  appeared 
(Medical  Repository,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  415)  what 
purported  to  be  a  denial  of  Woodhouse's  views. 
It  read: 

"The  more  nearly  the  nitric  acid  approaches 
to  purity,  the  more  powerfully  Mr.  Carrendeffez 
finds  it  acted  upon  by  silver,  copper  and  tin, 
notwithstanding  its  strength  and  concentration, 
provided  its  water  of  liquidity  be  not  too  much 
diminished." 

To  this  Woodhouse  immediately  answered: 

"I  have  since  frequently  repeated  these 
experiments,  and  still  adhere  to  my  former 
opinion,  which  I  consider  as  just. 

"If  nitric  acid,  prepared  from  the  common 
oil  of  vitriol  and  nitre  of  the  shops,  can  be  kept, 
for  weeks  or  months,  over  silver,  copper  and 
tin,  without  affecting  those  metals,  and  if  they 
are  acted  upon  in  a  most  violent  manner  in- 
stantly when  water  is  added  to  it,  certainly 
we  ought  to  conclude  that  the  acid  will  not 
affect  them,  and  that  water  is  necessary  to  its 
action. 

"The  phenomena  which  accompany  the  solu- 
tion of  each  of  these  metals,  in  the  acid,  are 
considerably  different. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  107 

"When  the  diluted  acid  is  added  to  tin,  a 
most  violent  commotion  ensues,  accompanied 
with  a  discharge  of  common  nitrous  and  depblo- 
gisticated  nitrous  air,  and  the  formation  of  the 
nitrates  of  tin  and  ammoniac,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  the  white  oxyd  of  tin. 

"This  experiment  affords  us  a  strong  andele- 
gant  proof  in  favour  of  the  decomposition  of  water, 
the  corner  stone  of  the  new  theory  of  chemistry. 

"The  hydrogen  of  the  water  unites  to  part 
of  the  azote  of  a  portion  of  the  nitric  acid,  and 
generates  ammoniac,  which  joins  to  some  of  the 
nitric  acid,  and  makes  nitrate  of  ammoniac. 
A  second  part  of  the  azote  of  the  acid  lays  hold 
of  part  of  the  oxygen  of  the  acid  and  water, 
and  produces  common  nitrous  air.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  azote  seizes  upon  another  portion 
of  the  oxygen  of  the  water  and  acid,  which 
gives  rise  to  the  dephlogisticated  nitrous  air. 
A  third  part  of  the  oxygen  of  the  acid  and 
water  joins  to  the  tin,  converts  it  into  a  white 
calx,  which  makes  the  nitrate  of  tin. 

"If  water  is  so  essential  to  the  action  of  the 
nitric  acid  on  tin,  in  what  manner  is  the 
ammoniac  produced,  or  from  whence  comes 
the  hydrogen  which  enters  into  the  composition 
of  this  substance?  It  is  necessary  to  add  lime, 
pot-ash  or  soda  to  the  solution  of  tin  in  nitric 
acid,  to  disengage  the  alkaline  gas." 


108  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

Silliman,  the  elder,  states  in  his  Elements  of 
Chemistry,  p.  233,  relative  to  tin  and  nitric  acid: 

"When  cold  there  is  no  action;  a  strip  of 
tin  foil  may  be  kept  in  a  bottle  of  the  acid  for 
years,  without  being  corroded,  provided  the 
air  be  excluded,"  and  in  a  footnote  adds,  "this 
was  first  mentioned  by  the  late  Dr.  James 
Woodhouse  of  Philadelphia,  at  the  time  when 
I  was  his  pupil  in  1802-3  and  4." 

Silliman  records  that  he  kept  tin-foil  in  a 
bottle  of  the  strongest  nitrous  acid  for  years, 
without  any  action,  the  tin  remaining  bright." 


When  Woodhouse  distilled  a  quantity  of 
the  bones  of  horses  and  cows  in  a  distilling 
apparatus,  formed  of  iron,  which  communicated 
with  the  worm  of  a  refrigeratory,  to  which  a 
large  glass  receiver  was  annexed,  on  applying 
a  high  degree  of  heat,  "three  ounces  of  volatile 
alkaline  spirit,  impregnated  with  the  black 
animal  oil  of  Dippel,  were  obtained  in  three 
hours.  The  receiver  was  closely  luted  to  the 
worm,  and  the  air  in  it  was  perfectly  transparent. 
Upon  taking  away  a  part  of  the  lute,  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  permit  the  air  of  the  atmosphere 
to  enter  the  receiver,  it  became  immediately 
filled  with  a  thick  brown  yellow  cloud  of  smoke. 

"Having    made    a    variety    of    comparative 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  109 

experiments,  to  determine  the  difference  in 
the  quantity  of  the  product,  by  distilling  with 
and  without  the  lute,  it  was  found  that  five 
tunes  as  much  of  the  volatile  alkaline  spirit 
could  be  obtained  by  carrying  on  the  distillation 
without  the  lute,  as  could  be  procured,  in  the 
same  space  of  time,  with  the  application  of  the 
lute. 

"Lavoisier  supposes,  that  when  ammoniac 
is  obtained  from  animal  substances,  the  hydrogen 
and  the  azote  of  these  bodies  unite  together, 
and  form  the  volatile  alkali;  but  it  appears 
from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  azotic  air 
of  the  atmosphere  enters  into  the  worm  of  the 
refrigeratory,  joins  the  hydrogen  of  the  bones, 
and  so  forms  the  ammoniac. 

"Manufacturers  of  the  volatile  spirit  of  sal 
ammoniac  may  take  some  valuable  hints  from 
these  experiments." 


Practical  problems  of  this  sort  were  certain 
to  arrest  his  attention.  He  had  the  interests 
of  the  public  in  mind,  for  he  wrote,  when  "a 
quart  of  the  most  putrid  urine,  and  of  as  yellow 
a  colour  as  gamboge,  was  exposed,  two  nights, 
to  intense  cold,  it  became  perfectly  sweet,  and 
was  as  colourless  as  rock-water."  This  cir- 
cumstance occasioned  this  inquiry: 


110  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"May  not  this  wonderful  change  be  attributed 
to  the  agency  of  the  oxygen  gas  of  the  cold 
atmospheric  air? 

"The  acid  of  citrons  not  only  neutralizes 
the  volatile  alkali  of  putrid  substances,  but 
completely  destroys  the  nauseous  smell  which 
exists,  independent  of  the  ammoniac.  The 
sulphuric  and  muriatic  acids  have  no  such 
effect.  Does  the  oxygen  of  the  citric  acid 
act  here  likewise?  Lowitz,  a  Russian  chemist, 
supposes  that  charcoal  neutralizes  the  putrid 
effluvia  of  animal  bodies;  but,  in  my  opinion, 
it  acts  mechanically,  in  preventing  the  putrid 
particles  of  matter  from  flying  into  the  air." 


In  discussing  the  fruit  of  the  Horse  Chestnut 
(Aesculus  Pavia),  particularly  in  connection 
with  the  starch  obtained  from  it,  Woodhouse 
wrote: 

"In  the  29th  number  of  the  Repertory  of  Arts, 
there  is  an  account  of  a  patent,  obtained  by 
Lord  William  Murray,  for  making  starch  from 
the  fruit  of  the  aesculus  hippocastanum.  A 
writer  in  the  London  Monthly  Magazine  for 
1798,  says  he  has  repeatedly,  and  in  various 
ways,  endeavoured  to  make  starch  of  the 
fruit,  but  always  unsuccessfully;  but  it  turns 
to  a  yellow  colour." 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  111 

He  continues:  "The  fruit  of  our  aesculus 
pavia  is  much  larger  than  that  of  the  aesculus 
hippocastanum,  and  is  of  a  white  colour;  that 
of  the  hippocastanum  is  yellow. 

"A  single  nut,  dried,  weighed  half  an  ounce 
and  twenty-five  grains,  and  yielded  forty-four 
grains  of  fine  starch. 

"I  prepared  half  a  pound  of  this  starch  from 
the  nuts  of  the  aesculus  pavia,  and  have  kept 
it  two  years,  and  the  white  colour  is  in  no  way 
impaired.  It  is  superior  to  the  finest  Poland 
starch,  and  has  been  used,  by  several  ladies, 
to  starch  various  articles  of  dress,  without 
imparting  any  yellow  colour  to  them. 

"The  method  of  preparing  it  is,  to  take  off 
the  shells  from  the  nuts  with  a  knife;  grate 
them  in  a  vessel  of  water  which  will  hold  the 
fine  particles  of  the  starch  suspended,  when 
they  are  to  be  decanted  into  another  vessel, 
which  must  remain  at  rest  until  the  starch 
subsides  to  the  bottom.  The  water  is  then  to 
be  poured  off,  and  fresh  is  to  be  added,  and 
the  starch  is  to  be  well  stirred  about  in  it,  when 
it  must  again  be  permitted  to  subside.  The 
water  is  then  to  be  thrown  away,  and  the  starch 
is  to  be  dried  in  the  sun. 

"The  water  of  the  first  washing  holds  a 
poisonous  matter  in  solution,  which,  when 
evaporated  to  the  consistence  of  an  extract, 


112  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

and    mixed    with    dough,    will    intoxicate    and 
swell  the  bellies  of  small  fishes." 


The  chemistry  of  plants  was  a  constant 
source  of  interest  to  Woodhouse.  He  was 
ready  at  any  moment  to  institute  inquiries 
regarding  them  either  as  a  whole,  or  of  particular 
parts;  hence  there  is  nothing  strange  when 
he  writes  of  Aromatic  Oils,  obtained  from  the 
Pellicle  which  envelopes  the  Seeds  of  the  Laurus 
Sassafras  and  Laurus  Benzoin,  and  recom- 
mends that  "the  method  of  obtaining  these 
oils  is  to  boil  the  pellicle  which  surrounds  the 
seeds  of  the  sassafras  and  Benjamin-tree  in 
water,  when  they  float  upon  its  surface,  from 
which  they  may  be  skimmed  with  a  spoon. 

"That  of  the  sassafras  differs  materially  from 
the  oil  obtained  from  the  bark  of  the  root  of  this 
tree.  Its  aroma  is  different,  it  is  much  lighter, 
and  it  congeals  in  a  higher  degree  of  heat. 

"The  oil  of  the  benzoin-tree  is  a  delightful 
aromatic,  is  very  inflammable,  and  might  be 
used  as  a  spice  in  a  food,  and  in  all  those  diseases 
in  which  the  aromatic  oils  are  useful.  It  has 
been  tried  with  success,  as  an  external  applica- 
tion, in  a  severe  case  of  chronic  rheumatism. 
One  half  pound  of  the  pellicle  of  the  seeds  will 
yield  several  ounce  measures  of  oil." 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  113 

Woodhouse's  views  of  the  eudiometer  were 
quite  interesting  for  he  wrote:  "the  eudi- 
ometer is  an  useless  instrument  in  ascertaining 
the  purity  of  atmospheric  air; 

"1st.  Because  nitrous  air  can  never  be 
obtained  of  the  same  degree  of  strength. 

"2ndly.  When  one  measure  of  nitrous  air 
is  added  to  one  measure  of  atmospheric  air, 
the  absorption  will  be  great  or  small,  according 
to  the  time  the  air  remains  over  the  water, 
or  is  agitated  in  it. 

"Having  made  seven  trials  with  this  instru- 
ment, with  the  same  atmospheric  air,  I  obtained 
a  diminution,  at  the  first  experiment  of 


0 

60 

2nd   

0 

56 

3rd  

0 

95 

4th  

0 

87 

5th  

0 

90 

6th 

0 

98 

7th.. 

.  0 

100 

"From  this  it  is  evident,  that  Dr.  Davidson 
was  deceived  in  supposing  that  the  air  of  Mar- 
tinique was  much  purer  than  the  air  of  Europe, 
and  that  the  error  lay  in  his  instrument.  The 
nitrous  air  which  I  used  was  procured  from 
nitric  acid  diluted  with  water  and  copper." 


114  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

A  discovery,  "the  best  which  has  been  made 
for  many  years,"  is  the  language  in  which 
Woodhouse  characterized  an  observation  of 
Mr.  William  Lambe  "on  the  Base  of  the  Muriatic 
Acid."  Lambe  attempted  to  prove  "that 
sulphurated  hydrogen  is  the  base  of  muriatic 
acid."  He  got  oxy-muriatic  acid  gas  by  drop- 
ping sulphuric  acid  upon  the  residuum  left 
after  evaporating  water  which  had  been  im- 
pregnated with  hepatic  gas,  in  which  iron  and 
manganese  had  been  digested."  And  Wood- 
house  published  that  he  had  "performed  this 
experiment,  and  the  result  is  exactly  as  stated 
by  Mr.  Lambe." 

His  procedure  was;  "Two  drachms  of  the 
filings  of  bar-iron  were  placed  in  twenty-two 
ounce  measures  of  distilled  water,  which  had 
been  impregnated  with  sulphurated  hydrogen 
gas,  in  Nooth's  apparatus.  In  five  days  twelve 
ounce  measures  of  inflammable  air  escaped 
from  the  water.  Six  ounces  of  the  clear  fluid 
evaporated  to  dryness,  left  a  residuum,  con- 
sisting of  dephlogisticated  muriate  of  iron, 
which  attracted  the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere. 
A  few  drops  of  sulphuric  acid,  let  fall  upon  it, 
produced  an  effervescence,  and  white  clouds  of 
oxy-muriatic  gas  escaped,  as  was  very  evident 
from  the  smell,  and  from  the  tests  generally 
used  to  detect  the  presence  of  this  gas." 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  115 

Here  the  modern  chemist  will  take  issue  with 
Woodhouse;  at  least,  he  will  be  very  skeptical, 
asking  what  really  happened  on  letting  water 
charged  with  hydrogen  sulphide  act  upon  the 
filings?  If  hydrogen  escaped,  did  iron  sulphide 
remain?  Could  it  possibly  have  been  dis- 
solved in  the  "six  ounces  of  clear  fluid,"  which 
on  evaporation  to  dryness,  gave  a  residue  of 
muriate  of  iron  ?  Muriate  of  iron  is  iron  chloride. 
Could  it  be  present  under  the  existing  condi- 
tions just  given?  It  is  hardly  likely. 

Perhaps  the  original  printed  document  does 
not  contain  all  that  Woodhouse  had  in  mind 
to  say.  Again,  the  distilled  water  may  not 
have  been  free  of  halides.  No  account  is  given 
of  the  modus  operand i  in  preparing  the  distilled 
water.  Nor  can  any  one  be  altogether  certain 
of  the  "filings."  The  abstract  has  little  value 
although  there  may  be  those  who  will  regard 
it  as  a  reflection  upon  Woodhouse 's  keenness 
of  observation,  or  upon  his  scientific  acumen. 


Had  the  reader  been  permitted  to  converse 
with  Woodhouse,  there  seems  little  doubt  but 
that  he  would  have  found  him  interested  not 
only  in  all  pertaining  to  chemistry  but  also  in 
geological  subjects,  and,  as  will  be  observed 
later,  in  minerals,  in  plants,  in  insects,  in  short, 


116  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

in  broad,  general  science  topics,  so  that  the 
following  communication  relative  to  "Blister- 
ing Flies"  peculiar  to  America,  will  be  con- 
sidered as  legitimate  subject-matter  even  for 
one  holding  himself  as  a  chemist  in  particular. 

"I  have  discovered  two  other  blistering 
meloes  besides  that  described  in  the  Medical 
Repository.  The  one  I  would  call  Meloe  Clema- 
tidis,  as  it  is  particularly  fond  of  several  species 
of  this  plant.  It  is  larger  than  the  one  described 
by  Dr.  Chapman,  and  the  female  is  nearly 
twice  the  size  of  the  male.  The  head,  thorax, 
elytra,  and  antennae  are  black;  the  elytra 
only  edged  with  white.  The  abdomen  is  of  a 
light  ash-colour.  The  upper  part  of  the  abdo- 
men, under  the  wings,  is  marked  by  two  longi- 
tudinal streaks  of  a  bright  clay-colour.  The 
asters  are  sometimes  black  with  these  flise, 
and  the  leaves  are  entirely  destroyed  by  them. 

"The  other  I  would  call  Meloe  Nigra,  the 
Pennsylvanica  of  Linnaeus.  It  is  not  more 
than  half  the  size  of  Chapman's  fly.  The 
whole  of  it  is  black.  It  feeds  upon  the  prunella 
vulgaris,  or  self-heal,  and  ambrosia  trifida, 
or  stick  weed. 

"I  applied  a  small  blister  of  these  flies  to 
my  skin,  and  lost  the  plaister  in  half  an  hour. 
In  twelve  hours  after  a  fine  blister  was  pro- 
duced. A  watery  extract  of  the  flies  blistered 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  117 

in  six  hours.  Distilled  in  a  retort,  they  yield 
an  acid,  whose  properties  have  not  yet  been 
examined. 

"Besides  these  three  kinds  of  meloe,  there 
is  another  found  in  this  country,  mentioned 
by  Kalm,  and  called  by  Linnaeus  meloe  majalis; 
but  it  is  not  yet  known  whether  it  will  blister; 
for  Shoepf  expressly  asks  the  question,  'an 
mel.  vesicatorio  (cantharid,  officinal.)  substi- 
tuendus?' 

"We  then  know  for  certainty  of  three  kinds 
of  indigenous  blistering  flies — Meloe  Chapmani, 
Meloe  clematidis,  and  Meloe  nigra.  Meloe 
majalis,  doubtful." 


The  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century 
and  the  very  early  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century  were  momentous  ones  in  chemical 
circles  in  this  country;  particularly  in  Phila- 
delphia, where  the  scientific  atmosphere  was 
charged  with  phlogiston.  It  could  scarcely 
have  been  otherwise  with  Priestley  actively 
advocating  the  existence  of  "that  principle 
which  is  sometimes  heavy,  sometimes  it  is  not; 
sometimes  it  is  fire  combined  with  the  earthy 
element;  sometimes  it  passes  through  the 
pores  of  the  vessels,  and  sometimes  they  are 
impenetrable  to  it;  it  explains  at  once  causticity 


118  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

and  non-causticity,  transparence  and  opacity, 
colors  and  the  absence  of  colors.  It  is  a  veritable 
Proteus  which  changes  its  form  every  moment." 

It  was  that  strange  doctrine — our  first  chemi- 
cal theory — which  had  dominated  chemical 
thought  from  1720  to  1789,  and  while  it  led 
to  experimentation,  placing  new  facts,  as  they 
were  obtained,  under  definite  view-points  and 
correlating  them,  yet  it  had  been  found  insuffi- 
cient and  had  been  gradually  abandoned  by 
its  supporters.  Thenard  wrote  of  the  Phlogiston 
Theory: 

"StahPs  theory  of  Combustion,  although  a 
great  error  deserves  from  its  important  results 
to  be  ranked  with  the  grander  discoveries  of 
Chemistry." 

And,  another  writer  said,  before  the  Chemical 
Society  of  Philadelphia  in  1798: 

"That  theory,  which  but  a  few  years  since 
commanded  the  undissenting  voice  of  the  chemi- 
cal world,  is  now  almost  wholly  forsaken. 
Still,  however,  the  tottering  dome  of  this  once 
mighty  fabric  is  supported  by  one  solitary 
pillar,  so  well  constructed  as  by  its  single  force 
to  uphold  it  against  the  warring  elements, 
nor  can  it  ever  fall  till  this  pillar  is  removed. 
Neither  can  the  doctrine  of  phlogiston  be  said 
to  be  totally  destroyed,  until  it  shall  cease  to  rank 
among  its  supporters  the  name  of  Priestley." 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  119 

In  other  lands  the  anti-phlogistic  views, 
as  enunciated  by  the  great  Lavoisier,  had 
gained  adherents  and  may  be  said  to  have 
become  established,  for  even  in  Germany  where 
national  prejudice  declared  in  favor  of 
phlogiston,  the  renowned  Klaproth,  having 
performed  the  experiments  of  Lavoisier  before 
the  Academy  of  Berlin,  and  convinced  of  their 
truth,  adopted  in  1792,  in  conjunction  with 
other  eminent  scientists  of  his  country,  the 
teachings  of  the  French  School. 

As  accurately  as  could  be  ascertained  a 
question  so  burning  as  that  of  the  existence 
or  non-existence  of  phlogiston  commanded  very 
earnest  thought  in  this  new  land,  and  there 
appears  to  have  been  a  leaning  toward  the 
newer  views,  but  the  advent  of  Priestley  devel- 
oped fresh  interest  in  the  problem.  His  stormy 
life  in  the  last  years  of  his  residence  in  England 
gave  him  little  opportunity  to  conduct  his 
scientific  inquiries,  but  "being  settled  at  North- 
umberland with  his  mind  at  peace,  and  at 
ease  in  his  circumstances,  he  seriously  applied 
himself  to  those  studies  which  he  had  long 
been  compelled  to  desist  from.  .  .  .  His  studies 
were  very  varied." 

About  the  year  1799,  the  friends  of  liberty 
in  America  were  greatly  alarmed  by  the  advance- 
ment of  principles  disgraceful  to  America, 


120  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

and  by  a  practice  less  liberal  in  many  respects 
than  under  the  monarchical  form  of  the  British 
Government. 

Priestley's  son  wrote:  "Nothing  else  was  the 
subject  of  conversation,  and  my  father  though 
never  active  in  politics,  at  the  same  time  never 
concealed  his  sentiments.  .  .  .  The  consequence 
was  that  all  the  bigotry  and  party  zeal  of  that 
violent  period  was  employed  to  injure  him, 
and  misrepresent  his  words  and  actions.  .  .  . 
It  was  intimated  to  my  father,  from  Mr.  Adams 
himself,  that  he  wished  he  would  abstain  from 
saying  anything  on  politics,  lest  he  should  get 
into  difficulty.  ..." 

And  in  Political  Tracts  many  disagreeable 
things  were  said  of  him  by  Peter  Porcupine.* 
For  example: 

"Of  all  the  English  arrived  in  these  States 
(since  the  War)  no  one  was  ever  calculated  to 
render  them  less  service  than  Dr.  Priestley; 
and  what  is  more,  perhaps  no  one  (before  or 
since,  or  even  in  the  War)  ever  intended  to 
render  them  less :  his  preference  to  the  American 
Government  is  all  affectation:  his  emigration 
was  not  voluntary:  he  staid  in  England  until 
he  saw  no  hopes  of  recovering  a  lost  reputation; 
and  then  bursting  with  envy  and  resentment, 

•The  pen  name  of  William  Cobbett,  an  interesting  character.     A  confirmed  pam- 
phleteer. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  121 

he  fled  into  what  the  Tammany  Society,  very 
justly  call  'banishment,'  covered  with  the 
universal  detestation  of  his  countrymen.  .  .  . 
He  is  a  bird  of  passage  that  has  visited  us, 
only  to  avoid  the  rigour  of  an  inclement  season: 
when  the  reanimating  sunshine  of  revolution 
shall  burst  forth  on  his  Dative  clime,  we  may 
see  him  prune  his  wings,  and  take  his  flight 
from  the  dreary  batiks  of  the  Susquehattnah 
to  those  of  the  Thames  or  the  Avon." 

This  gives  a  picture  of  some  of  the  experi- 
ences of  Priestley,  but  in  the  midst  of  them 
all  he  experimented  and  published  his  treatise 
in  defense  of  Phlogiston  (1800).  And  his  son 
said:  "But  the  last  four  years  of  his  life  he 
lived  under  an  administration,  the  principles 
and  practices  of  which  he  perfectly  approved, 
and  with  Mr.  Jefferson,  the  head  of  that  adminis- 
tration, he  frequently  corresponded,  and  they 
had  for  each  other  a  mutual  regard  and  esteem. 
He  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  the  wisest  and  best 
men  in  the  country,  particularly  at  Philadelphia, 
where  his  religion  and  politics  did  not  prevent 
his  being  kindly  and  cheerfully  received  by 
great  numbers  of  opposite  opinions  in  both, 
who  thus  paid  homage  to  his  knowledge  and 
virtue." 

American  chemists,  of  all  ages,  will  find  ample 
justification  for  congratulation  that  their  fore- 


122  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

fathers,  not  only  in  Philadelphia,  but  throughout 
the  cities  of  the  young  Republic,  were  among 
those  who  kindly  received  and  "paid  homage" 
to  the  sturdy  defender  of  a  lost  cause — the 
sage  and  philosopher — who  gave  so  much  of 
himself  to  conferring  happiness  upon  his  fellow- 
men. 

Among  his  closest  friends  in  chemical  circles 
were  McNevin  of  New  York  (1764-1841), 
author  of  a  neat,  favorably  received  volume 
entitled  "An  Exposition  of  the  Atomic  Theory," 
Mitchill  (1764-1831)  of  Columbia  University, 
a  learned  man  who,  it  is  said,  first  taught 
in  this  country  the  nomenclature  of  Lavoisier, 
and  Woodhouse,  who  in  his  quiet,  just  way 
endeavored  to  convince  old  Doctor  Priestley 
of  the  erroneous  nature  of  his  views,  but  through 
the  entire  controversy  maintained  the  happiest 
relations  with  this  mighty  Nestor  in  chemical 
science.  One  develops  a  strong  affection  for 
Woodhouse  on  observing  his  magnanimous  atti- 
tude toward  Priestley.  Whatever  faults  he 
may  have  had,  he  surely  was  a  man  of  sound 
judgment  who  thought  long  and  well  before 
acting.  He  was,  it  is  true,  very  human,  yet 
always  quite  ready  to  concede  that  the  thoughts 
and  views  of  others  were  entitled,  at  least  to 
respect,  hence  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  that 
his  friendship  for  Franklin's  "heretic"  was 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  123 

unimpaired.  This  is  beautifully  exhibited  in 
a  record  made  by  one  of  Woodhouse's  students: 

"I  happened  to  be  in  Philadelphia,  as  a 
pupil  of  Dr.  Woodhouse  when  Dr.  Priestley 
came  in  person  to  the  laboratory  of  Dr.  Wood- 
house,  who  was  himself  a  disciple  of  Lavoisier, 
and  who  performed  various  experiments  on 
this  topic,  at  that  time  keenly  controverted. 
It  was  the  last  effort  to  sustain  the  doctrine 
of  phlogiston,  and  to  produce  from  metals 
and  inflammables  a  real  substance,  to  which 
it  was  supposed  that  the  name  of  phlogiston 
could  be  applied.  Hydrogen  had  been  before 
called  phlogiston,  but  it  was  impossible  to 
prove  its  existence  in  all  inflammable  bodies 
and  metals  (unless  the  discovery  of  this  gas 
should  establish  it),  and  it  was  distinctly 
proved  that  it  forms  water  by  its  combustion. 
Indeed,  Dr.  Priestley  was  one  ef  the  first  to 
perform  that  interesting  experiment,  but  he 
did  not  eventually  admit  the  conclusion." 

And  Caldwell  (p.  67)  has  expressly  declared 
that  in  the  earliest  years  of  Woodhouse's 
laboratory  activity  it  was  along  lines  pertaining 
to  the  formation  of  water  and  its  decomposition. 

Did  these  early  American  chemists  dream 
that  as  the  years  went  on  their  problems, 
wrought  with  the  expenditure  of  so  much 
nervous  and  physical  energy,  would  come  to  be 


124  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

little  regarded?  The  remarkable  synthesis  of 
an  organic  body — urea — from  inorganic  mate- 
rial, no  longer  excites  astonishment  when  con- 
trasted with  the  syntheses  of  sugar,  alcohol, 
indigo,  alkaloids,  etc.  And,  so  too,  what  was 
early  executed  hi  establishing  the  constitution 
of  water  fades  away  on  studying  such  epoch- 
making  researches  as  those  of  E.  W.  Morley 
and  Theodore  W.  Richards,  who  in  our  own 
generation  have  built  so  superbly  upon  the  early 
and  crude  efforts  of  Woodhouse  and  the  men  of 
his  and  immediately  succeeding  generations. 

How  will  the  conquests  of  the  present  be 
viewed  by  chemists  one  hundred  years  hence? 
Today  it  is  generally  thought  that  prevailing 
ideas  and  accepted  work  represent  almost  the 
final  word.  Doubtless  the  men  of  1800  enter- 
tained very  similar  thoughts.  They  were 
wrong  and  we  would  find,  on  our  return  a 
century  or  two  hence,  if  it  were  possible,  the 
chemists  of  that  far-away  date,  to  be  little 
excited  over  our  efforts,  considering  them  only 
as  links  in  the  great  chain  of  inquiry  leading 
to  the  Truth. 

The  phlogiston  controversy  on  American 
soil  was  precipitated  by  Priestley  himself.  In 
1796  he  issued  a  pamphlet  of  thirty-nine  pages 
bearing  the  title,  "Considerations  on  the  Doc- 
trine of  Phlogiston  and  the  Decomposition  of 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  125 

Water."  In  this  connection  Mitchill  remarked: 
"it  must  give  pleasure  to  every  philosophical 
mind  to  find  the  United  States  becoming  the 
theatre  of  such  interesting  discussions."  And 
further,  "we  feel  a  degree  of  satisfaction  in 
ascribing  a  considerable  part  of  the  increasing 
taste  and  prevailing  fashion  for  chemical  pur- 
suits in  this  country,  within  a  year  or  two, 
to  the  influence  and  example  of  Priestley." 

In  his  first  paper,  Priestley  confessed  that 
he  had  nothing  particularly  new  to  offer  on 
the  subject  of  phlogiston,  but  desired  "to  make 
one  appeal  more  to  the  philosophical  world," 
so  he  aimed  to  present  as  a  complete  picture 
the  more  important  objections  to  the  anti- 
phlogistic system,  "with  the  intention  of  bring- 
ing forward  the  favourers  of  the  new  doctrine, 
to  the  explanation  of  these  difficulties,  by  the 
aid  of  additional  facts  and  more  cogent  argu- 
ments that  have  hitherto  appeared."  Priestley 
had  seen  his  friends  and  acquaintances  desert- 
ing phlogiston,  not  merely  one  by  one,  but 
frequently  going  over  to  the  other  side  in  whole 
troops,  while  he  remained  firm  to  the  doctrine 
of  Stahl.  As  his  views  may  be  gleaned  from 
the  fasciculus  noted  above,  they  will  not  be 
here  reproduced.  Let  it  suffice  to  observe 
that  a  prompt  reply  came  from  Adet,  the 
ci-devant  Minister  of  the  French  Republic  to 


126  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

the  United  States,  just  before  his  departure 
from  Philadelphia  to  France,  which  induced 
one  writer  to  observe  "we  cannot  but  think 
he  (Adet)  has  usefully  employed  the  interval 
of  leisure  which  the  jarring  politics  of  two 
governments  afforded  him." 

Priestley's  constant  objection  to  the  facts 
attending  the  composition  and  decomposition 
of  water  amazed  Adet,  for  the  anti-phlogistic 
chemists  had  repeated  and  verified  the  experi- 
ment so  many  times,  and  therefore  he  felt 
driven  to  state  once  again:  "  (1)  that  in  causing 
water  to  pass  through  a  red-hot  gun  barrel, 
the  iron  becomes  oxydated  by  the  oxygen  of 
the  water;  (2)  notwithstanding  the  difference 
which  exists  between  the  black  oxyd  of  iron, 
produced  by  the  decomposition  of  water,  and 
the  common  red  oxyd  of  the  same  metal,  they 
are  still  both  of  them  oxyds,  for  these  reasons; 
that,  like  other  oxyds,  they  both  dissolve  in 
acids  without  disengaging  anything,  and  metallic 
bodies  are  incapable  of  combining  with  acids 
unless  they  are  previously  united  to  oxygen; 
(3)  although  there  is  some  difference  between 
this  oxyd  and  the  common  red  oxyd,  it  does 
not  follow  that  they  are  not  both  oxyds;  the 
difference  between  the  two  being  only  owing 
to  the  different  circumstances  under  which 
they  have  combined  with  oxygen." 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  127 

Adet  asserted  that  all  of  Priestley's  objections 
to  the  water  problem  were  explainable  without 
the  introduction  of  the  phlogiston  idea.  The 
participation  in  a  chemical  problem  by  one  so 
eminent  in  diplomacy  as  Adet  was  justly 
esteemed  a  marked  tribute  to  the  science. 

Another  respondent  to  the  brochure  of  Priest- 
ley was  John  Maclean,  the  honored  professor 
of  chemistry  at  Princeton.  He  had  not  been 
aware  of  Adet's  communication.  However,  he 
deemed  the  subject  of  such  importance  that 
he  placed  his  communication  before  his  students 
in  the  course  of  his  customary  lectures.  He 
answered  Priestley,  point  by  point.  The  zeal 
he  exhibited  will  be  best  understood  by  reading 
his  work.  He  confidently  recommended  the 
anti-phlogiston  chemistry  to  bis  students  in 
these  words: 

"From  the  view  which  has  been  given  of 
the  different  explanations  of  the  phenomena 
of  combustion,  it  appears  that  Becher's  is 
incomplete;  Stahl's  though  ingenious,  is  defec- 
tive; the  antiphlogistic  is  simple,  consistent, 
and  sufficient;  while  Dr.  Priestley's  resembling 
Stahl's  but  in  name,  is  complicated,  contra- 
dictory, and  inadequate.  You,  doubtless,  there- 
fore will  be  inclined  to  prefer  the  anti-phlogistic 
doctrine:  Indeed,  you  may  adopt  it  with  safety; 
for,  from  being  a  plain  relation  of  facts,  it  is 


128  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

founded  on  no  ideal  principle,  on  no  creature 
of  the  imagination;  it  is  propped  by  no  vague 
supposition,  by  no  random  conjecture;  it  is 
dependent  upon  nothing  whose  existence  can- 
not be  actually  demonstrated;  whose  properties 
cannot  be  submitted  to  the  most  rigorous  exam- 
ination; and  whose  quantity  cannot  be  deter- 
mined by  the  tests  of  weights  and  measures." 
Mitchill  endeavored  to  reconcile  the  opposing 
views  and  the  existing  differences,  but  plainly 
was  unsuccessful.  In  a  compromising  attitude 
he  wrote  Priestley  "your  opposition  to  the 
new  doctrine  has  been  serviceable  to  the  cause 
of  science.  It  has  prevented  too  easy  and 
sudden  an  acquiescence  in  the  novel  system 
of  the  antiphlogistians,  where  difficulties  and 
paradoxes  had  been  admitted  by  many,  with- 
out having  been  subjected  to  due  examination. 
You  have  prompted  more  vigorous  inquiry 
into  these  matters  than  would  probably  other- 
wise have  been  made.  .  .  .  Perhaps  even  now 
my  labors  are  but  of  little  avail;  or,  if  they 
were  capable  of  bringing  about  a  coalition  of 
parties,  I  might  say  to  you  after  all,  in  the 
words  of  Prior  to  his  Alma: 

"For,  Dick,  if  we  could  reconcile 
Old  Aristotle  with  Gassendus, 
How  many  would  admire  our  toil ! 

And  yet  how  few  would  comprehend  us!" 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  129 

Priestley  wrote  his  thanks  to  Mitchill  for 
has  attempts  to  "promote  a  peace  between  the 
present  belligerent  powers  in  chemistry;  but 
I  much  fear  your  labors  will  be  in  vain,"  and 
he  adds  that  he  would  be  obliged  "if  you  will 
inform  me  when  he  (Maclean)  replies  to  my 
last  pamphlet.  He  did  not  treat  me  with  the 
civility  to  which  I  think  I  am  entitled  as  a 
veteran  in  the  science.  Had  he  been  the  vic- 
torious Buonaparte,  I  as  an  old  Wurmser, 
should  have  been  treated  with  respect,  though 
vanquished.  But  this  Mantua  has  not  sur- 
rendered yet."  And  in  a  postscript  wrote: 
"Dr.  Maclean  did  not,  as  the  laws  of  war 
require,  ever  send  me  a  copy  of  his  pamphlet; 
and  as  I  never  saw  it  advertised,  it  was  only 
by  the  accident  of  my  son's  being  in  Philadelphia 
that  I  got  it." 

Priestley  wrote  at  least  eight  letters  in  favor 
of  the  doctrine  of  phlogiston,  practically  repeti- 
tions of  earlier  arguments.  To  some  of  these 
Mitchill  replied,  always  in  the  most  apologetic 
vein,  and  with  the  earnest  purpose  of  bringing 
an  agreement  among  the  opponents.  "It 
would  give  me  great  satisfaction,"  he  said  on 
one  occasion,  "that  we  could  settle  the  points 
of  variance  on  this  subject;  though  even  as 
it  is,  I  am  flattered  by  your  allowing  my  attempt 
to  reconcile  the  two  theories  to  be  ingenious, 


130  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

plausible  and  well-meant.  Yet,  after  all  I 
have  written,  I  fear  you  still  think  they  cannot 
be  reconciled;  consequently  the  labour  of  those 
who  undertake  it  is  thrown  away;  they  toil 
to  no  purpose: 

In  vain,  tho*  by  their  powerful  art  they  bind 

Volatile  Hermes,  and  call  up,  unbound, 

In  various  shapes,  old  Proteus  from  the  Sea." 

Maclean  protested  in  a  very  animated  fashion 
against  the  views  of  Priestley.  The  reader 
of  the  present  will  observe  much  animus  in 
his  remarks.  It  is  difficult  to  explain  this 
course  unless  he  thought  the  observations, 
explanations,  and  experimental  work  of  Priestley 
rather  beneath  his  contempt. 

Woodhouse  had  remained  a  silent  observer 
of  the  course  events  took.  He  knew,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  everything  that  was  going 
on,  but  was  busily  engaged  in  his  laboratory, 
seeking  evidence  against  the  phlogistians. 
Priestley,  having  access  to  him  in  the  midst 
of  his  work  and  probably  contending  on  the 
spot  with  Woodhouse,  the  latter  quickly  learned 
to  appreciate  the  genuine  character  of  Priestley, 
and  therefore  could  not  be  other  than  irritated 
by  Maclean's  writings.  This  state  of  Wood- 
house's  mind  would  easily  explain  the  following 
epistle  to  Maclean: 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  131 

"SiR, 

"As  there  are  several  assertions  in  your 
examination  of  Dr.  Priestley's  consideration  on 
the  doctrine  of  phlogiston  and  decomposition  of 
water,  relating  to  some  important  parts  of  chem- 
istry, which  are  absolutely  erroneous,  I  think  it 
necessary  to  call  your  attention  to  the  subject. 

"As  you  wrote  your  dissertation  expressly 
to  prevent  the  youth  of  Princeton  college  from 
falling  even  into  temporary  delusion,  and  as 
public  controversy  is  always  favourable  to 
the  cause  of  truth,  you  can  have  no  rational 
objection  to  this  letter. 

"A  judgment  may  be  formed  how  well  you 
have  accomplished  your  purpose,  and  what 
right  you  have  to  condemn  the  experiments 
of  Dr.  Priestley  in  the  authoritative  manner 
you  have  done,  having  made  none  yourself,  from 
the  following  particulars.  You  are  not  yet,  Doc~ 
tor,  the  conqueror  of  this  veteran  in  philosophy. 

"You  agree  with  the  French  chemists,  that 
turbith  mineral  is  an  oxyde  of  mercury,  and 
have  asserted,  that  any  substance  into  which 
it  may  be  converted  by  a  red  heat,  does  not 
require  any  addition  to  constitute  it  a  metal. 

"Now,  the  very  contrary  of  this  is  true; 
for  we  have  the  most  conclusive  proofs,  that 
turbith  mineral  is  not  an  oxyde,  but  a  sulphate 
of  mercury. 


132  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"1st.  If  pure  turbith  mineral  is  exposed 
to  a  red  heat,  in  a  long  glass  tube,  a  quantity 
of  the  sulphate  of  mercury,  of  a  white  colour 
and  strong  acrid  taste,  sublimes  from  it,  and 
adheres  to  the  sides  of  the  vessel. 

"2dly.  If  a  solution  of  caustic  pot-ash  is 
boiled  upon  the  turbith,  it  suffers  a  consider- 
able loss  in  weight,  and  loses  its  bright  yellow 
colour,  and  is  converted  into  a  calx  of  the 
colour  of  brick  dust.  The  solution,  by  spon- 
taneous evaporation  in  the  open  air,  will  yield 
chrystals  of  vitriolated  tartar. 

"3dly.  If  distilled  water  is  boiled  upon  the 
turbith,  and  renewed  from  time  to  time,  the 
water  will  always  precipitate  a  solution  of 
muriated  barytes. 

"These  experiments  incontestibly  prove,  that 
turbith  mineral  is  not  an  oxyde,  but  a  sulphate 
of  mercury. 

"It  is  no  objection  to  this  opinion,  that  the 
turbith,  when  exposed  to  a  red  heat,  yields 
oxygenous  gas,  and  that  running  mercury  is 
obtained;  for  the  sulphuric  acid  leaves  one 
part  of  it  and  joins  to  another,  which  sublimes 
in  the  form  of  a  white  salt.  That  part  which 
the  acid  deserts  is  converted  into  an  oxyde, 
is  revived  without  addition  and  yields  pure  air. 

"This  sulphate  of  mercury  is  the  supposed 
calx  to  which  Dr.  Priestley  refers.  It  is  some- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  133 

times  obtained  of  a  red  colour,  owing  to  some 
substance  which  deprives  a  part  of  the  sulphuric 
acid  of  its  oxygenous  gas,  and  converts  it  into 
sulphur,  which,  uniting  with  the  fluid  mercury, 
sublimes  in  the  form  of  cinnabar,  and  gives 
the  whole  of  the  salt  a  red  colour. 

"This  is  what  you  ought  to  have  ascertained, 
if  you  intended  to  have  acquired  the  character 
of  an  accurate  investigator. 

"Your  next  assertion  is,  that  red  lead  con- 
tains more  oxygene  than  a  calx  of  iron,  from 
which  circumstance  you  suppose,  that  the 
former  calx  oxygenates  the  muriatic  acid,  and 
the  latter  does  not,  as  it  contains  but  a  small 
quantity  of  pure  air. 

"Your  words  are:  'it  certainly  does  not 
follow,  because  muriatic  acid  can  separate  a 
certain  portion  of  oxygene  from  lead,  when 
this  is  combined  with  a  great  quantity  of  this 
substance,  that  it  should  likewise  separate 
oxygene  from  iron,  when  this  is  united  to  a 
comparatively  small  quantity.' 

"You  will  grant,  that  when  a  pure  metallic 
calx  is  heated  in  hydrogenous  gas,  that  the 
oxygene  of  the  calx  unites  to  the  hydrogene, 
and  forms  water;  consequently  those  calces 
which  make  the  greatest  quantity  of  inflammable 
air  disappear,  contain  the  most  oxygene. 

"Having  heated  one  drachm  of  red  lead  by 


134  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

a  burning  lens,  eleven  inches  in  diameter,  in 
hydrogenous  gas;  obtained  from  the  sulphuric 
acid  diluted  with  water,  and  malleable  iron, 
and  which  had  been  well  washed  in  lime-water, 
it  made  ten  ounce  measures  of  the  air  disappear. 

"One  drachm  of  the  precipitate  of  iron, 
from  green  vitriol  by  ammoniac,  or  a  solution 
of  mild  pot-ash  and  the  common  rust  of  iron, 
heated  in  the  same  manner,  made  thirty-six 
ounce  measures  of  the  air  vanish.  One  drachm 
of  the  filings  of  bar-iron,  melted  in  oxygenous 
gas,  absorbed  twenty-six  ounce  measures  of 
this  air. 

"One  hundred  grains  of  well  dried  red  lead, 
according  to  Lavoisier,  contain  89.93  metal, 
and  7.64  oxygene;  25.39  water,  and  the  same 
quantity  of  the  precipitate  of  iron,  from  green 
vitriol,  by  caustic  pot-ash,  according  to  Gadolin, 
contains  58.48  metal,  15.91  oxygene.  One 
hundred  parts  of  the  yellow  calx  of  iron,  accord- 
ing to  Lavoisier,  68.66  metal,  and  32.24  oxygene. 

"Your  opinion,  then,  according  to  these 
experiments,  in  regard  to  the  quantity  of 
oxygene  which  the  calces  of  iron  and  lead  con- 
tain, is  void  of  foundation. 

"The  true  reason  that  red  lead  will  oxygenate 
muriatic  acid,  and  that  a  calx  of  iron  will  not, 
is  that  the  former  readily  gives  it  oxygene  to 
the  acid,  and  the  latter  does  not,  owing  to  a 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  135 

difference  in  the  elective  attractions  subsisting 
between  the  acid,  oxygene  and  the  two  metals. 

"It  is  evident,  that  the  oxygenation  of  the 
muriatic  acid  does  not  merely  depend  upon 
the  quantity  of  oxygene  contained  in  the  calx; 
for  one  drachm  of  manganese,  which  has  been 
exposed  to  a  red  heat,  and  parted  with  most 
of  its  pure  air,  will  oxygenate  the  acid  to  a 
greater  degree  than  an  ounce  of  the  calx  obtained 
from  boiling  a  solution  of  the  caustic  alkali 
upon  turbith  mineral,  which  contains  thirty 
times  the  quantity  of  oxygenous  gas. 

"You  have  also  declared  that  Dr.  Priestley 
is  mistaken,  in  saying  that  finery  cinder  will 
not  acquire  rust,  and  assert  that  it  contracts 
rust  sooner  than  common  iron. 

"To  determine  this  question  a  quantity 
of  the  scales  which  blacksmiths  strike  off  from 
red-hot  iron,  reduced  to  an  impalpable  powder, 
were  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  air  more 
than  twelve  months,  and  were  sprinkled  with 
water  several  hundred  times,  and,  at  the  end 
of  this  time,  were  as  free  from  rust  as  when 
first  exposed. 

"The  rust  which  finery  cinder  appears  to 
contract  is  owing  to  iron  filings  with  which  it  is 
frequently  mixed.  The  pure  scales  will  never 
acquire  rust;  for,  when  bar-iron  is  converted 
into  finery  cinder,  it  parts  with  the  small 


136  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

quantity  of  coal  it  contained,  and  absorbs 
oxygene  and  water. 

"You  have  answered  the  Doctor,  on  this 
part  of  the  controversy  by  informing  him, 
that  inflammable  air  is  a  constituent  part  of 
other  bodies  besides  water;  that  hydrogene 
is  retained  with  great  force,  by  coal;  that 
unglazed  earthen  vessels  absorb  moisture;  and, 
lastly,  you  tell  him  in  what  manner  the  experi- 
ment ought  to  have  been  performed,  and 
declare  it  is  of  no  value,  as  reported  in  his 
experiments  on  different  kinds  of  air. 

"I  have  repeated  this  famous  experiment, 
and  the  result  is  exactly  as  stated  by  Dr. 
Priestley. 

"One  ounce  of  the  scales  of  iron,  and  the 
same  quantity  of  charcoal,  were  separately 
exposed,  in  two  covered  crucibles,  in  an  air- 
furnace,  well  supplied  with  fuel  for  five  hours. 
They  were  then  taken  out  of  the  fire,  and 
mixed,  while  red-hot,  in  a  red-hot  iron  mortar — 
were  triturated  with  a  red-hot  iron  pestle,  formed 
of  an  iron  ram-rod — were  poured  upon  a  red- 
hot  piece  of  sheet-iron,  and  instantly  put  into 
a  red-hot  gun-barrel,  which  was  fixed  in  one  of 
Lewis's  black  lead  furnaces,  and  communicated 
with  the  worm  of  a  refrigeratory,  a  part  of  a 
hydropneumatic  apparatus.  Immediately  after, 
luting  the  gun-barrel  to  the  worm,  one  hundred 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  137 

and  forty-two  ounce  measures  of  inflammable 
air  came  over  in  torrents,  mixed  with  a  tenth 
part  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

"This  experiment  has  puzzled  every  person 
to  whom  it  has  been  mentioned. 

"For  my  part,  I  do  not  think  it  affects  the 
anti-phlogistic  system,  for  the  scales  of  iron 
contain  water,  and  retain  it  in  so  obstinate 
a  manner  as  not  to  part  with  it  upon  the  appli- 
cation of  heat;  but  when  coal  is  added  to  the 
finery  cinder,  it  takes  away  the  water,  by  having 
a  greater  affinity  to  it  than  to  the  calx  of  iron. 
The  coal  decomposes  this  water;  its  oxygen 
is  united  to  part  of  the  coal,  to  carbonic  acid; 
while  its  hydrogene  is  separated,  dissolves 
another  part  of  the  coal,  and  forms  the  car- 
bonated hydrogene  gas. 

"Dr.  Priestley's  explanation  of  this  experi- 
ment is  very  unsatisfactory;  for  he  says,  the 
phlogiston  of  the  charcoal  contributes  to  revive 
the  iron;  but  the  Doctor  ought  to  have  re- 
membered that  an  oxyde  of  iron  cannot  be 
revived  in  one  of  Lewis's  small  black  lead 
furnaces. 

"There  are  other  substances  besides  finery 
cinder,  which,  when  mixed  with  coal,  which 
has  ceased  to  yield  air,  give  inflammable  air 
in  large  quantities.  It  may  be  obtained  from 
any  precipitate  of  iron  or  zinc,  or  from  the 


138  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

flowers  of  zinc  mixed  with  red-hot  coal;  and 
the  hydrogene  gas  procured  will  always  be  in 
proportion  to  the  water  which  the  calces  con- 
tain, and  the  metals  will  not  be  revived. 

"Should  you  consider  the  objections  of  Dr. 
Priestley  once  more,  and  advance  nothing 
but  what  is  founded  upon  your  own  experi- 
ments, you  may  hear  from  me  again;  and 
I  promise  not  to  be  the  first  to  drop  the  subject. 

"Mere  assertions  only  serve  to  fix  errors 
deeply  in  the  mind,  and  do  not  advance  the 
cause  of  truth. 

"Hoping  that  I  do  not  intrude  upon  the 
precious  moments  of  your  time,  which  is  more 
agreeable,  and,  perhaps,  more  usefully  employed 
than  in  discussing  this  subject, 

"I  am,  Sir,  with  consideration, 
:<  Yours,  etc. 

"JAMES  WOODHOUSE. 
"Dr.  John  Maclean." 

Maclean's  answer  to  this  communication 
was  very  unsatisfactory.  It  consisted  of  quib- 
blings.  It  presented  no  new  facts.  Indeed, 
it  was  undignified,  in  witness  whereof  one 
needs  merely  to  ponder  thfe  subjoined  quota- 
tion; for  it  seems  Woodhouse  had  emphasized 
his  intention  of  pursuing  Maclean  unless  he 
would  offer  real  facts.  So  the  latter  said: 


JAMES  WOODHOTJSE  139 

"At  the  same  time  be  informed,  you  will 
write  to  one  who  is  far  from  being  a  punctual 
correspondent;  even  his  friends  complain  their 
letters  are  unanswered;  so  that,  it  is  more 
than  probable,  he  will  take  no  notice  of  your 
criticisms. 

"Do  not  understand  from  this  that  I  mean 
to  deter  you  from  writing  to  me.  Your  letter 
has  afforded  me  not  a  little  entertainment; 
and,  if  you  can  always  furnish  me  with  the 
like,  it  will  be  very  acceptable." 

Woodhouse  made  no  reply  to  Maclean.  The 
latter  dropped  out  of  the  controversy.  As  he 
had  no  convincing  facts  to  submit,  this  was 
quite  the  proper  thing  for  him  to  do.  But 
with  Woodhouse  conditions  were  vastly  other- 
wise. While  following  the  discussions  in  print 
he  was  prosecuting,  as  has  been  said,  his  labora- 
tory experiments  unceasingly.  He  experi- 
mented and  repeated  experiments,  as  did 
Michael  Faraday  long  after,  when  he  strove 
to  establish  the  fundamentals  of  electro-chem- 
istry. He  seemed  possessed  of  but  one  thought, 
viz. — that  experimental  results,  and  these  only, 
could  give  final  decision  upon  the  various 
topics  brought  forward  in  the  discussions. 
Accordingly,  he  sent  forth  his  observations 
in  a  memorable  contribution,  which  consti- 
tuted the  72d  essay  of  the  Fourth  Volume  of 


140  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

the  Transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  from  which  it  passed  into  other  journals 
at  home  and  abroad.  Its  purpose  was  to 
answer  the  arguments  advanced  by  Priestley 
against  the  antiphlogistic  system.  The  effort 
was  made  to  review  each  point  made  by  Priestley 
in  its  order  of  presentation. 

He  therefore  discussed: 

1st. — The  revival  of  a  metallic  calx  in  inflam- 
mable air.  "When  the  focus  of  a  burning 
lens  is  thrown  upon  a  calx  of  mercury,  con- 
fined in  hydrogenous  gas,  according  to  the 
antiphlogistic  theory  of  chemistry,  the  oxygen 
of  the  calx  unites  to  the  hydrogen,  and  forms 
water;  but,  according  to  Dr.  Priestley,  the 
hydrogen  enters  into  the  metal,  while  the 
oxygen  is  found  mixed  with  that  part  of  the 
hydrogenous  gas  which  remains  behind. 

"The  Doctor  declares,  in  support  of  this 
opinion,  that,  in  several  of  his  experiments, 
the  pure  air,  expelled  by  the  heat  of  the  lens 
from  the  mercurial  calx,  was  found  mixed  with 
the  remainder  of  the  inflammable  air,  as 
appeared  by  the  test  of  nitrous  air,  and  by 
some  disagreeable  explosions  which  happened 
in  the  process. 

"Having  performed  the  experiment  of  the 
revival  of  red  precipitate  in  hydrogenous  gas, 
twenty  times,  without  having  met  with  an 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  141 

explosion,  I  concluded  that  Dr.  Priestley's 
inflammable  air  must  have  been  mixed  with 
atmospheric  air.  I  was  of  this  opinion,  because 
I  never  could  detect  any  pure  air  mixed  with 
inflammable  air,  after  the  revival  of  a  mercurial 
calx  in  it,  by  the  test  of  nitrous  air." 

2d. — The  calcination  of  a  metal  in  pure  and 
"atmospherical"  air. — The  oxygen  employed 
in  the  many  experiments  under  this  rubric 
was  exceedingly  pure,  because  "the  whole  of 
it  was  devoured  by  the  nitrous  test." 

3d. — Carbonic  acid  or  fixed  air.  This  was 
really  a  consideration  of  the  various  means 
of  preparing  "fixed  air."  Priestley  had  said 
"that  large  quantities  of  it  could  be  obtained 
from  heating  a  mixture  of  iron  filings  and  red 
precipitate,"  concluding  with  the  statement 
that  the  experiment  had  never  failed  with  him, 
to  which  Woodhouse  rejoined — "and  I  say 
it  has  never  succeeded  with  me"  .  .  .  and 
adds,  "in  my  opinion,  the  proofs  that  fixed 
air  (CO2)  is  composed  of  oxygen  and  carbon, 
are  as  strong  as  that  Glauber's  salt  is  com- 
posed of  sulphuric  acid  and  soda."  It  seems 
that  Priestley  had  said  that  fixed  air  was  com- 
posed of  "inflammable  air"  and  " dephlogisti- 
cated"  air,  which  prompted  Woodhouse  to 
ask  then,  "why  is  it  not  obtained  by  exploding 
pure  air  and  the  'inflammable'  air  from  malle- 


142  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

able  iron?"  He  showed  that  if  Priestley  really 
got  "fixed  air"  in  this  way  it  was  because  the 
"inflammable  air"  from  cast  iron  filings  "holds 
coal  [carbon]  in  solution." 

4th. — Finery  cinder  or  the  scales  of  iron. 
This  substance  seemed  to  have  vexed  many 
chemists.  Woodhouse  knew  that  fixed  air 
and  "carbonated  inflammable  air"  resulted 
upon  heating  it  with  charcoal;  he  therefore 
wrote : 

"In  considering  what  takes  place  in  this 
process,  we  must  call  to  our  aid  the  decomposi- 
tion of  water,  the  clue  which  leads  us  through 
all  the  labyrinths  of  the  antiphlogistic  system 
of  chemistry.  The  carbonated  inflammable 
air  is  formed  by  the  hydrogen  of  the  water, 
which  is  supplied  by  the  finery  cinder,  dis- 
solving part  of  the  coal  [carbon],  while  the 
oxygen  of  the  water  and  finery  cinder,  uniting 
with  another  part  of  the  coal,  make  the  fixed  air. 

"We  are  under  the  necessity  of  admitting 
the  presence  of  water  in  the  finery  cinder. 
It  cannot  be  in  the  coal,  where  Berthollet, 
Fourcroy,  and  other  chemists  find  it;  for,  in 
my  experiments,  the  coal  has  ceased  to  yield 
air,  and,  consequently,  could  not  contain  water." 

To  explain  this  he  thought  he  was  obliged 
to  admit  the  presence  of  water  in  the  finery 
cinder. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  143 

5th. — Here  he  described  "the  precipitation 
of  one  metal  by  another"  and  cited  the  fact 
that  when  zinc  is  introduced  into  a  solution 
of  sugar  of  lead  "inflammable  air  is  produced." 
He  observed  that  he  also  got  the  air  by  the 
interaction  of  zinc  filings  and  copper  sulphate, 
etc.  He  declared  the  French  chemists  were 
ignorant  of  this. 

6th. — Here  Woodhouse  remarked  in  connec- 
tion with  the  air  contained  in  the  pores  of 
charcoal  which  has  been  exposed  to  a  red  heat: 

"Dr.  Priestley  says  that  charcoal  contains 
azotic  gas,  but  I  have  always  found  it  to  be 
atmospherical  air.  One  measure  of  the  air 
obtained  from  coal,  by  means  of  water,  gave, 
with  the  nitrous  test,  an  absorption  of  90." 

Much  excellent  experimentation  was  pre- 
sented in  Woodhouse's  argumentation  upon  the 
preceding  topics.  All  that  he  did  possessed  a 
pronounced  bearing  and  value  in  arriving  at 
the  truth. 

Close  upon  this  document  came  letters 
addressed  to  the  editors  of  the  Medical  Reposi- 
tory in  which  were  presented  additional  observa- 
tions to  certain  objections  made  by  Priestley 
to  the  antiphlogistic  system  of  chemistry.  He 
said  at  the  outstart  that  mistakes  may  have 
been  made  by  Priestley  as  well  as  by  the  French, 
and  "should  any  be  made  by  myself,  I  shall 


144  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

always  acknowledge  them,  for  nothing  is  more 
desirable  than  truth  in  science.  Following 
the  laudable  example  of  Dr.  Priestley,  I  shall 
endeavor  to  imitate  his  well-known  candor 
and  strict  adherence  to  matter  of  fact — 

"Non  ita  certandi  cupidus,  quam  propter  amorem 
Quod  eum  imitari  aveo." — LUCBET. 

After  which  he  resumed  the  old  subject 
of  "the  calces  of  metals  and  coal  exposed  to  a 
red  heat."  He  continued  to  maintain  the 
presence  of  water  in  "finery  cinder"  giving 
his  experimental  proofs,  and  saying  that  "oxygen 
is  also  one  of  its  component  parts,  which  Dr. 
Priestley  will  not  allow."  The  patience  exer- 
cised in  the  execution  of  innumerable  experi- 
ments is  astounding.  The  constant  resort 
to  quantitative  conditions  is  also  striking  and 
highly  creditable.  Every  student  of  chemistry 
will  admire  these  important  features  of  Wood- 
house's  effort.  It  is  an  exhaustive  study. 
It  was  most  meritorious  although  in  many 
points  it  led  to  erroneous  views  or  conclusions. 
Various  oxides  were  mixed  with  coal  and  then 
heated.  The  results  were  given  in  the  utmost 
detail.  Curiously  enough,  he  writes  at  one 
place: 

"The  flowers  of  zinc,  yielding  no  fixed  air 
when  subjected  to  heat  with  coal,  or  the  fixed 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  145 

air  which  is  sometimes  obtained  being  in 
proportion  to  the  water,  which  is  united  to  the 
calx,  is  agreeable  to  the  theory  of  Dr.  Priestley, 
and  cannot  be  accounted  for  as  vitriolic  acid  and 
water  were  added  to  it,  to  dissolve  any  particles 
of  iron  it  might  contain,  and  it  was  well  washed 
in  pure  water. 

"The  focus  of  a  lens  was  thrown  upon  a 
portion  of  this  metal,  confined  in  fifty-six  ounce 
measures  of  oxygenous  gas,  which  had  been 
washed  in  lime  water,  and  was  of  the  purity 
of  155,  until  nineteen  ounce  measures  were 
absorbed.  The  remaining  air  was  of  the  purity 
of  140,  and  contained  T&TT  parts  fixed  air. 

"The  copper  calcined  in  this  operation  was 
then  revived,  by  heating  it  in  forty-eight  ounce 
measures  of  hydrogenous  gas,  from  malleable 
iron,  when  eighteen  ounce  measures  of  the 
air  disappeared.  The  remainder  of  the  inflam- 
mable air  contained  no  fixed  air. 

"The  revived  metal  was  then  melted  in 
fifteen  ounce  measures  of  pure  air,  of  the  strength 
of  140,  until  eight  ounce  measures  were  absorbed. 
The  remaining  air  was  of  the  purity  of  125, 
and  contained  •&  parts  fixed  air.  The  calcined 
metal  was  again  heated  in  forty-four  ounce 
measures  of  hydrogenous  gas,  until  sixteen 
ounce  measures  disappeared.  The  remaining 
air  contained  no  fixed  air." 


146  JAMES  WOODHOtJSE 

Other  metals  were  experimented  upon  in  a 
similar  manner,  when  Woodhouse  said: 

"When  fixed  air  is  generated  by  heating  in 
pure  air  copper,  which  has  been  revived  by 
inflammable  air  from  the  calx  of  copper  .  .  . 
the  only  source  of  coal  can  be  from  particles 
of  dust  which  accidently  became  mixed  with 
the  copper,  and  which  it  is  difficult  to  exclude. 
The  disinterested  must  decide  whether  this 
explanation  is  completely  satisfactory." 

Other  subjects  of  discussion  were  the  effect 
of  "hydrogenous  gas"  on  fresh  manganese, 
and  upon  that  oxide  remaining  after  the  expul- 
sion of  its  "pure  air."  Again,  he  was  successful 
in  refuting  the  thought  of  Priestley.  The 
effect  of  heating  finery  cinder  in  "carbonated 
hydrogenous  gas"  was  another  problem  from 
which  Woodhouse  came  victorious,  bringing 
with  him  facts  of  great  interest  to  all  chemists. 
Thus  the  controversy  proceeded  with  the  honors 
falling  in  almost  all  instances  upon  the  young 
American  investigator. 


The  controversial  activity  of  Woodhouse 
must  certainly  have  interested  his  students. 
They  witnessed  the  experiments  and  doubtless 
discussed  the  various  lines  of  argument.  Only 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  147 

one,  as  far  as  can  be  learned  indirectly,  referred 
to  the  work.  This  hint  has  been  already  given 
on  p.  123.  For  a  portion  of  this  period  of  storm 
and  stress  Robert  Hare  was  under  the  tutelage 
of  Woodhouse,  but  nowhere  in  his  writings 
does  one  discover  any  reference  to  the  subject 
which  so  completely  absorbed  the  thought  of 
his  elders.  Perhaps,  his  own  devotion  to  the 
remarkable  behavior  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen 
overshadowed  all  else.  It  was  his  effort  to 
improve  the  ordinary  blow-pipe  which  eventually 
culminated  in  the  oxyhydrogen  flame  torch, 
but  who  knows  but  that  his  daily  contact  with 
hydrogen  and  oxygen,  as  they  were  handled 
by  Woodhouse,  may  have  been  the  unconscious 
force  which  prompted  him  to  apply  their  use? 
However,  the  atmosphere  about  him  and  about 
all  other  American  chemists  was  being  quite 
rapidly  filled  with  other  ideas.  Volta  had 
evolved  his  battery.  Dalton  had  just  enun- 
ciated, among  a  wide  circle  of  friends,  his  views 
relative  to  atoms  and  their  combination  with 
one  another;  and  the  various  participants  in 
the  great  struggle  were  strong  in  their  convic- 
tions with  reference  to  the  soundness  of  the 
views  of  Lavoisier  and  his  followers,  so  that 
interest  in  the  stoutly  maintained  ideas  of 
Priestley  began  to  wane  and  contestants  grad- 
ually directed  their  endeavors  to  other  fields. 


148  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

At  last,  Priestley,  weary  of  the  contest,  declares 
that  he  had  become  too  old  to  wage  further 
war,  but  that  he  thought  there  remained  still 
some  unsettled  points,  the  explanation  and 
elucidation  of  which  he  willingly  assigned  to 
his  much  younger  and  more  aggressive  antago- 
nist, who  was  so  amply  equipped  for  this  final 
task.  Thus  practically  ended  the  memorable 
contest  which  had  extended  itself  through  so 
many  years.  Woodhouse,  however,  appears 
to  have  been  deeply  stirred  by  Priestley's  final 
declarations  on  "Phlogiston  Established"  and 
was  averse  to  letting  them  pass  without  a  final 
word  from  himself.  Granting  much  to  his 
adversaries,  he  continues  steadfast  in  his  early 
views,  so  that  while  his  concluding  document 
is  somewhat  lengthy  it  must  be  given  inasmuch 
as  it  represents  Woodhouse's  final  thoughts, 
and  the  results  of  numerous  and  tedious  experi- 
ments. He  styles  the  contribution  an  answer 
to  Priestley's  ideas  on  the  doctrine  of  phlogiston, 
and  the  decomposition  of  water,  but  plainly 
aims  to  make  his  views  as  conclusive  as  possible 
by  adding  that  what  he  announced  was  "founded 
upon  demonstrative  experiments."  He  dis- 
cusses the  subject  by  topics;  thus, 

"1.  Of  the  Constitution  of  Metals. 

"Dr.  Priestley,  in  two  publications,  attacked 
that  theory  of  chemistry,  which  is  at  present 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  149 

adopted  by  a  large  majority  of  chemists,  in 
different  parts  of  the  world. 

"The  doctor  adheres  to  the  doctrine  of 
phlogiston,  and  believes  that  metals  are  com- 
pound bodies,  formed  of  this  substance  and 
a  peculiar  base  or  calx. 

"On  the  contrary,  the  antiphlogistic  chemists 
reject  phlogiston. 

"First.  Because  it  appears  to  be  a  mere 
creature  of  the  imagination,  whose  existence 
has  never  been  proved. 

"Secondly.  Because  all  the  phenomena  of 
chemistry,  can  be  satisfactorily  explained,  with- 
out the  aid  of  this  hypothesis. 

"They  believe  metals  to  be  simple  substances, 
because  they  have  never  been  proved  to  be 
compound  bodies. 

"They  consider  a  metallic  calx,  to  be  a  union 
of  a  metal  and  the  base  of  a  vital  air,  called  by 
them  oxygen,  as  it  is  the  principle  of  universal 
acidity.  The  proofs  that  metals  in  being  con- 
verted into  calces,  absorb  oxygen,  are, 

"First.  That  all  calces  of  mercury  give  out 
oxygenous  gas  when  exposed  to  a  red  heat, 
without  any  addition. 

"Secondly.  If  a  metal  is  calcined  in  oxy- 
genous gas,  the  whole  of  it  will  be  absorbed. 

"Thirdly.  If  the  process  of  calcination  is 
performed  in  a  variety  of  gases,  containing  some 


150  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

oxygenous  air,  the  oxygen  only  will  be  imbibed 
by  the  metal,  and  the  others  will  be  left  un- 
altered. 

"Fourthly.  If  any  substance  is  added  to  a 
metallic  oxyd,  and  the  calx  is  revived,  a  com- 
pound body  will  be  produced,  formed  of  the 
agent  used  and  the  oxygen  contained  in  the  calx. 

"Thus,  if  the  filings  of  pure  bar  iron  are 
mixed  with  red  precipitate,  and  exposed  to  a 
red  heat,  the  iron  will  be  converted  into  a  calx 
and  the  mercury  will  be  revived.  If  pure 
charcoal  is  mixed  with  the  precipitate,  carbonic 
acid  will  be  produced;  and  if  the  mercurial 
calx  is  revived  in  hydrogenous  gas,  water  will 
be  formed. 

"The  first  objection  of  Dr.  Priestley,  to  this 
theory  of  the  calcination  of  metals,  is  as  follows : 

"He  says,  if  turbith  mineral  is  exposed  to  a 
red  heat,  a  calx  remains  which  cannot  be  revived 
in  any  degree  of  heat,  without  the  aid  of  some 
substance,  supposed  to  contain  phlogiston. 
Before  we  proceed  any  further  in  this  investi- 
gation, it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  determine 
the  real  composition  of  turbith  mineral. 

"According  to  the  French  philosophers,  this 
substance  is  a  pure  oxyd  of  mercury. 

"Fourcroy  and  Baume  declare,  that  it  does 
not  contain  one  particle  of  sulphuric  acid. 
Dr.  Priestley  is  doubtful  whether  it  is  a  salt 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  151 

or  a  calx;  and  in  the  Edinburgh  Dispensatory 
and  London  Pharmacoepia  Chirurgica,  it  is 
called  hydrargyrus  vitriolatus  flavus. 

"The  following  experiments  were  made,  to 
ascertain  the  composition  of  this  substance: 

"First.  One  ounce  of  pure  turbith  mineral 
was  exposed  to  a  red  heat,  in  a  long  glass  tube, 
which  communicated  with  an  hydropneumatic 
apparatus,  when  thirty -three  ounce  measures 
of  oxygenous  gas  were  obtained.  Upon  breaking 
the  glass,  a  quantity  of  fluid  mercury  was  found 
in  the  tube.  Two  drachms  of  the  sulphate  of 
mercury,  of  a  white  colour  and  a  strong  acrid 
taste,  had  sublimed  on  the  sides  of  the  glass. 
A  part  of  the  sulphate  of  mercury,  was  coloured 
by  an  immense  number  of  minute  particles  of 
revived  mercury,  which  gave  it  the  appearance 
of  mercurius  cinereus. 

"Secondly.  One  ounce  of  turbith  mineral, 
was  boiled  fifteen  times,  six  hours  each  time, 
in  half  a  pint  of  distilled  water,  which  was 
renewed  every  time;  and  it  could  not  be  freed 
from  the  sulphuric  acid,  for  the  water  always 
precipitated  a  solution  of  muriated  barytes. 

"Thirdly.  One  ounce  of  turbith  mineral 
was  boiled  three  hours  in  a  solution  of  caustic 
pot-ash,  when  it  lost  its  yellow  colour,  and 
was  converted  into  a  calx  of  the  colour  of 
brick  dust.  Upon  being  dried  it  was  found 


152  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

to  have  lost  one  hundred  and  sixty  grains  in 
weight. 

"The  liquor  in  which  it  was  boiled  by  sponta- 
neous evaporation  in  the  open  air,  gave  chrystals 
of  vitriolated  tartar. 

"These  experiments  were  repeated  with  tur- 
bith  mineral,  made  by  precipitating  a  solution 
of  the  sulphate  of  mercury  by  pot-ash,  with  the 
same  result. 

"They  clearly  prove,  contrary  to  what  has 
been  advanced  by  Lavoisier,  Monnet,  Bucquet, 
Fourcroy,  Chaptal  and  other  French  chemists, 
that  turbith  mineral,  is  not  a  pure  oxyd  of 
mercury,  but  contains  sulphuric  acid,  and  may 
be  considered  as  a  sulphate  of  mercury. 

"The  reason  that  those  gentlemen  were 
deceived  in  regard  to  the  composition  of  this 
substance  must  have  been,  either  that  they 
did  not  break  the  vessels  in  which  their  experi- 
ments were  made,  to  discover  any  residuum, 
or  from  the  circumstance,  of  obtaining  oxy- 
genous gas  from  the  turbith,  equally  as  good  as 
from  any  acknowledged  calx  of  mercury, 

"The  reason  that  turbith  mineral  yields 
oxygenous  gas,  when  it  is  exposed  to  red  heat, 
is,  that  the  sulphuric  acid  quits  one  part  of  it 
and  joins  to  another,  which  sublimes  in  the 
form  of  a  white  salt.  That  part  which  the 
sulphuric  acid  leaves,  is  converted  into  a  calx, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  153 

is  revived  without  addition,  and  yields  oxygenous 
gas. 

"Thus  sulphate  of  mercury  is  the  supposed 
calx  to  which  Dr.  Priestley  refers.  It  is  some- 
times obtained  of  a  red  colour,  owing  to  some 
impure  matter  contained  in  the  turbith  mineral, 
which  by  depriving  a  part  of  the  sulphuric 
acid  of  its  pure  air,  converts  it  into  sulphur, 
which  uniting  with  part  of  the  revived  mercury, 
forms  cinnabar,  which  gives  the  whole  of  the 
sublimed  salt  a  red  colour. 

"That  it  is  a  sulphate  of  mercury,  we  have 
an  additional  proof,  from  an  experiment  of 
Dr.  Priestley,  for  he  procured  ethiops  mineral, 
by  heating  this  supposed  calx  in  inflammable 
air,  by  means  of  a  burning  lens,  which  he  could 
not  have  obtained  from  a  pure  calx  of  mercury, 
treated  in  the  same  manner. 

"The  size  of  the  vessel,  in  which  turbith 
mineral  is  heated,  will  vary  the  result  of  the 
experiment.  No  residuum  can  be  obtained 
by  exposing  it  in  a  crucible  to  a  red  heat,  for 
the  whole  of  it  flies  away,  and  leaves  only  a 
mark  on  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.  The  same 
circumstance  will  take  place,  if  a  short  glass 
tube  is  used. 

"Having  thus  determined,  that  the  substance 
which  remains  after  exposing  turbith  mineral 
to  a  red  heat,  is  a  neutral  salt,  coloured  red  by 


154  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

cinnabar,  and  not  a  metallic  calx,  we  see  that 
the  first  objection  of  Dr.  Priestley,  to  the 
theory  of  the  calcination  of  metals,  adopted 
by  the  antiphlogistic  chemists,  loses  all  its 
force,  for  certainly  it  does  not  follow,  that 
because  the  sulphate  of  mercury  requires  to  be 
deproved  of  its  sulphuric  acid,  before  running 
mercury  can  be  procured  from  it,  that  there- 
fore all  mercurial  calces  require  the  addition 
of  phlogiston,  to  be  converted  into  mercury. 

"The  second  objection  of  Dr.  Priestley, 
to  the  new  theory  of  chemistry  is,  that  when 
a  metal  is  reduced  to  a  calx,  it  throws  out  some- 
thing which  forms  phlogisticated  air.  He 
says,  that  when  the  focus  of  a  burning  lens, 
is  thrown  upon  iron  confined  in  atmospheric 
air,  the  dephlogisticated  air  is  not  merely  sepa- 
rated from  the  phlogisticated  air,  but  that  the 
phlogiston  from  the  iron,  unites  with  the 
dephlogisticated  air,  and  forms  azotic  gas. 

"In  order  to  see  if  this  assertion  was  just, 
the  focus  of  the  burning  lens  belonging  to  our 
society  [Chemical  Society  of  Philadelphia],  which 
is  eleven  inches  in  diameter,  was  thrown  upon 
ninety  grains  of  the  filings  of  bar  iron,  filed 
for  the  purpose,  confined  in  thirty-two  ounce 
measures  of  oxygenous  gas,  which  had  been 
well  washed  in  lime  water,  and  which  was  so 
pure,  that  nearly  the  whole  of  it  was  devoured 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  155 

by  the  test  of  nitrous  air.  Twenty-eight  ounce 
measures  of  the  pure  air  were  absorbed  by  the 
iron,  which  was  reduced  to  a  calx. 

"The  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  produced, 
which  was  formed  by  a  small  quantity  of  coal, 
which  all  iron  of  commerce  contains,  uniting 
to  a  part  of  the  pure  air,  amounted  to  one 
ounce  measure. 

"When  the  fixed  air  was  absorbed  by  washing 
it  in  lime  water,  the  remaining  air  was  in  no 
manner  injured. 

"The  focus  of  the  lens  was  likewise  thrown, 
upon  sixty  grains  of  the  filings  of  copper,  con- 
fined in  sixteen  ounce  measures  of  oxygenous 
gas.  Twelve  ounce  measures  of  the  pure 
air  were  absorbed  by  the  metal,  which  was 
converted  into  a  calx.  No  carbonic  acid  or 
azotic  gas  was  formed,  and  the  remaining 
air  was  perfectly  pure.  These  experiments 
prove,  contrary  to  what  has  been  said  by 
Dr.  Priestley,  that  when  a  metal,  containing  no 
foreign  substance,  is  calcined  in  oxygenous  gas, 
the  pure  air  only  is  imbibed,  no  substance  is  emit- 
ted from  the  metal,  and  no  azotic  gas  is  formed. 

"2.  Of  the  Solution  of  Iron  in  the  Diluted 
Sulphuric  and  Muriatic  Acids. 

"The  next  thing  which  engages  the  attention 
of  Dr.  Priestley,  is  the  solution  of  iron,  in  the 
diluted  sulphuric  and  muriatic  acids. 


156  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"The  question  to  be  decided  is,  whether  the 
hydrogenous  gas,  which  is  produced,  comes 
from  the  iron,  or  from  the  water  which  the 
acids  contain. 

"The  antiphlogistic  chemists  contend,  that 
it  comes  from  the  water,  for  the  following 
reasons : 

"First.  If  concentrated  sulphuric  acid  is 
boiled  upon  iron  filings,  sulphurous  gas  is  pro- 
duced, but  no  inflammable  air,  and  the  sul- 
phuric acid  suffers  a  decomposition  and  a  loss 
in  weight. 

"Secondly.  If  the  sulphuric  acid  is  digested 
upon  iron  in  the  cold,  it  remains  in  a  quiescent 
state,  but  the  instant  water  is  added,  a  violent 
action  ensues,  accompanied  by  a  discharge  of 
hydrogenous  gas. 

"Thirdly.  They  believe  that  the  hydro- 
genous gas  comes  from  the  water,  because  no 
inflammable  air,  can  be  produced  from  iron 
without  water,  and  the  hydrogenous  gas  obtained 
is  in  strict  proportion  to  the  water,  which  the 
acids  contain. 

"Fourthly.  They  believe,  water  is  decom- 
posed in  dissolving  iron  in  the  diluted  sul- 
phuric acid,  that  its  oxygen  calcines  the  metal, 
while  the  hydrogen  escapes,  and  that  the  acid 
acts  upon  the  calcined  metal  without  being 
decomposed,  for  it  will  saturate  as  much  alkali, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  157 

after  the  process  of  solution,  as  it  did  before. 

"Fifthly.  They  prove  that  water  is  com- 
posed of  oxygen  and  hydrogen. 

"Dr.  Priestley's  objection  to  this  explanation 
is,  that  as  one  hundred  parts  of  water,  according 
to  the  advocates  of  the  new  system  of  chemistry, 
are  composed  of  eighty-seven  parts  of  oxygen 
and  thirteen  of  hydrogen,  which  is  nearly  seven 
times  as  much  of  the  former  as  of  the  latter, 
there  must  be  a  great  deposition  of  oxygen 
somewhere,  when  iron  is  dissolved  in  diluted 
sulphuric  acid,  which  he  cannot  discover. 

"He  denies  that  it  unites  to  the  metal,  and 
declares  there  is  no  addition  of  oxygen  in  the 
process,  and  consequently  that  there  is  no 
decomposition  of  water  in  the  case. 

"That  there  is  a  quantity  of  oxygen,  which 
unites  to  the  metals,  when  dissolved  in  acids, 
I  think  can  be  easily  proved. 

"In  order  to  do  this  I  will  shew,  that  when 
pure  metallic  calces,  which  are  acknowledged 
by  Dr.  Priestley  to  contain  oxygen,  are  heated 
in  hydrogenous  gas,  that  the  oxygen  of  the 
calces  unites  to  the  hydrogen  and  forms  water, 
and  that  the  disappearance  of  the  inflammable 
air,  is  always  in  strict  proportion  to  the  pure 
air  which  the  calces  contain. 

"I  will  then  prove  that  the  calces  of  copper 
and  iron,  obtained  from  the  sulphates  of  these 


158  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

metals  by  ammoniac,  have  this  property  of 
making  large  quantities  of  inflammable  air 
disappear.  The  oxyds  which  are  acknowledged 
to  contain  oxygen  are  mercury,  lead  and 
manganese. 

"The  focus  of  the  lens  was  thrown  upon 
two  drachms  of  red  precipitate,  confined  in 
thirty-two  ounce  measures  of  hydrogenous  gas, 
obtained  from  the  sulphuric  acid  diluted  with 
water  arid  the  filings  of  bar  iron,  which  had 
been  well  washed  in  lime-water.  Twenty- 
two  ounce  measures  of  the  inflammable  air 
disappeared,  the  mercury  was  revived  and  no 
carbonic  acid  gas  was  produced.  The  air 
which  remained  behind  was  not  altered. 

"According  to  Dr.  Priestley,  fixed  air  should 
have  been  formed  in  this  process,  for  he  says, 
when  any  substance  known  to  contain  oxygen, 
is  heated  in  inflammable  air,  fixed  air  is  found, 
but  this  is  not  the  case. 

"I  agree  with  the  Doctor,  that  carbonic 
acid  gas  will  be  obtained  by  reviving  minium, 
or  mercurius  precipitatus  per  se  in  inflammable 
air,  for  these  calces  generally  contain  it,  but  if 
the  minium  be  converted  into  massicot,  no 
fixed  air  will  be  generated. 

"Here  we  have  a  strong  proof  of  the  position 
we  are  endeavouring  to  establish. 

"Two   drachms   of   red   lead,   make  twenty 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  159 

ounce  measures  of  inflammable  air  disappear, 
when  heated  in  it  by  the  burning  lens,  but 
when  converted  into  massicot,  only  eight  ounce 
measures. 

"Now,  if  Dr.  Priestley's  theory  was  true, 
that  the  metal  imbibed  the  air,  massicot  ought 
to  absorb  more  inflammable  air  than  minium, 
as  it  contains  more  lead  than  an  equal  weight  of 
minium. 

"In  making  red  lead  into  massicot,  nothing 
but  pure  air  with  a  small  quantity  of  fixed 
air  escapes,  and  the  loss  of  the  pure  air  is  the 
true  reason,  that  one  calx  of  the  same  metal, 
will  make  more  inflammable  air  disappear  than 
another. 

"But  we  have  still  stronger  proofs,  to  prove 
that  our  ideas  on  this  subject  are  just. 

"The  focus  of  the  lens  was  thrown  upon  one 
drachm  of  the  oxyd  of  manganese,  confined 
in  thirty  ounce  measures  of  hydrogenous  gas, 
when  twenty-two  ounce  measures  of  the  gas 
disappeared,  and  the  metal  was  not  revived. 
How  then  could  the  inflammable  air  have 
entered  into  its  composition? 

"A  quantity  of  the  oxyd  of  manganese, 
was  exposed  to  a  red  heat  for  three  hours,  and 
a  part  of  its  pure  air  was  driven  off,  when  upon 
throwing  the  focus  of  the  lens  upon  one  drachm 
of  it  confined  in  inflammable  air,  none  of  the 


160  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

air  disappeared,  whereas  if  this  quantity  of 
the  oxyd,  had  not  been  exposed  to  a  red  heat, 
twenty-two  ounce  measures  of  the  air  would 
have  vanished. 

"Some  manganese  was  also  precipitated  from 
its  solution,  in  the  muriatic  acid  by  ammoniac, 
and  when  fresh  made  it  would  never  make  any 
inflammable  air  disappear,  when  heated  in  it  by 
the  burning  lens,  but  after  being  exposed  a 
few  days  to  the  action  of  atmospheric  air,  one 
drachm  of  it  made  four  ounce  measures  of 
inflammable  air  disappear.  In  all  these  cases 
we  evidently  see  the  operation  of  oxygen. 
Not  knowing  the  exact  quantity  of  pure  air, 
which  iron  and  copper  absorbed,  one  drachm 
of  the  filings  of  bar  iron  were  melted  by  the 
burning  lens  in  oxygenous  gas  when  twenty- 
six  ounce  measures  were  imbibed  by  the  iron, 
and  the  same  quantity  of  the  filings  of  copper 
heated  in  the  same  manner  gave  an  absorption 
of  thirteen  ounce  measures. 

"One  drachm  of  the  precipitate  of  iron, 
from  a  solution  of  the  sulphate  of  iron  by 
ammoniac,  was  then  heated  in  forty-six  ounce 
measures  of  hydrogenous  gas,  when  thirty-six 
ounce  measures  of  the  air  disappeared. 

"The  same  quantity  of  the  common  rust 
of  steel,  and  the  carbonate  of  iron,  obtained 
from  green  vitriol  by  a  solution  of  mild  pot-ash, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  161 

and  what  Dr.  Priestley  calls  a  nitrated  calx 
of  iron  formed  by  adding  nitric  acid  to  a  calx 
of  iron  and  exposing  it  to  a  red  heat,  when 
treated  in  the  same  manner,  made  exactly  as 
much  air  vanish. 

"One  drachm  of  the  precipitate  of  copper, 
from  a  solution  of  blue  vitriol  by  ammoniac, 
exposed  to  the  action  of  the  lens  in  hydro- 
genous gas,  made  eighteen  ounce  measures 
of  the  air  disappear. 

"Here  then  are  two  metals,  one  of  which 
the  iron,  absorbs  twice  as  much  oxygen,  when 
melted  in  it,  as  the  copper,  and  its  calx  follow- 
ing the  same  proportion  when  heated  in  hydro- 
genous gas,  makes  exactly  twice  as  much  of 
the  air  disappear. 

"After  one  drachm  of  the  calx  of  iron,  had 
made  thirty -six  ounce  measures  of  inflammable 
air  disappear,  it  was  exposed  to  the  action 
of  the  lens  in  oxygenous  gas,  when  four 
ounce  measures  of  the  air  were  absorbed, 
and  after  this  being  again  heated  in  hydro- 
genous gas,  six  ounce  measures  of  the  air 
vanished. 

"In  all  these  experiments  nothing  but  water 
was  produced.  The  carbonic  acid  gas  was  not 
obtained,  unless  it  previously  existed  in  the 
calces. 

"It   is   not   however   denied,   that   fixed   air 


162  JAMES  WOODHOTJSE 

may  be  generated  by  heating  a  pure  metallic 
calx,  in  a  particular  kind  of  inflammable  air. 
Thus  it  may  be  made  by  reviving  red  precipitate 
in  hydrogenous  gas,  obtained  from  exposing 
the  flowers  of  zinc  and  coal  to  a  red  heat,  or 
from  passing  alcohol  over  red  hot  iron,  but 
none  will  be  procured  from  that  made  by  the 
diluted  sulphuric  acid  and  malleable  iron,  or 
from  that  obtained  by  passing  the  steam  of 
water  over  malleable  iron. 

"Upon  reviving  three  drachms  of  red  pre- 
cipitate, in  thirty -six  ounce  measures  of  hydro- 
genous gas,  from  the  flowers  of  zinc  and  coal, 
which  had  been  well  washed  in  lime  water, 
there  was  an  absorption  of  only  two  ounce 
measures. 

"After  the  operation,  there  was  a  great 
production  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  Water  was 
not  formed  in  this  process,  for  the  coal  held 
in  solution  in  the  hydrogenous  gas,  had  a 
stronger  attraction  to  the  pure,  than  to  the 
inflammable  air,  and  consequently  fixed  air 
was  generated. 

"Had  the  same  quantity  of  precipitate  been 
revived  in  inflammable  air,  from  malleable 
iron,  upwards  of  thirty  ounce  measures  of  the 
air  would  have  vanished. 

"Dr.  Priestley,  supposing  that  the  inflam- 
mable air,  or  the  phlogiston  it  contains,  enters 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  163 

into  the  composition  of  metals,  has  made  a 
calculation  of  the  quantity  of  this  air  absorbed 
by  an  ounce  of  several  of  them.  He  calculates 
from  the  metal  actually  revived.  According 
to  him,  one  ounce  of  mercury  absorbs  three 
hundred  and  sixty -two  ounce  measures  of  hydro- 
genous gas.  The  quantity  mentioned  here, 
is  far  too  great.  One  drachm  of  red  precipitate, 
which  contains  more  than  fifty  grains  of  mercury, 
makes  twelve  ounce  measures  of  inflammable 
air  disappear. 

"It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  be  exact  in  this 
experiment,  for  some  of  the  precipitate  always 
disperses  in  reviving  the  mercury,  and  a  part 
of  the  metal  sublimes,  and  adheres  to  the 
sides  of  the  vessel  which  is  used. 

"As  I  believe,  that  when  a  metallic  calx 
is  heated  in  hydrogenous  gas,  the  oxygen  of 
the  calx,  unites  to  the  hydrogen  and  forms 
water,  I  always  calculate  from  the  quan- 
tity of  hydrogenous  gas  that  disappears, 
from  heating  a  given  quantity  of  a  calx  in 
this  air. 

"According  to  my  experiments,  one  ounce 
of  red  precipitate,  mercurius  precipitatus  per  se, 
and  the  calx  obtained  by  boiling  a  solution 
of  caustic  pot-ash  in  turbith  mineral,  makes 
112  ounce  measures  of  inflammable  air  dis- 
appear, when  heated  in  it  by  burning  lens. 


164  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

Red  Lead 88 

Massicot 32 

Litharge 32 

Manganese 192 

Copper 144 

Iron 288 

"Upon  dissolving  half  a  drachm  of  the 
precipitate  of  iron,  which  had  made  sixteen 
ounce  measures  of  hydrogenous  gas  disappear, 
in  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  as  much  inflammable 
air  was  obtained,  as  two  grains  of  the  filings 
of  malleable  iron  would  have  produced. 
According  to  this  experiment,  were  I  to  cal- 
culate in  the  same  manner  as  Dr.  Priestley, 
I  would  say,  that  one  ounce  of  bar  iron  absorbs 
3,840  ounce  measures  of  inflammable  air,  but 
this  quantity  of  the  metal  by  solution  in  the 
sulphuric  acid  and  water  will  yield  no  more 
than  365  ounce  measures  of  hydrogenous  gas. 

"If  an  ounce  of  mercury  absorbs  362  ounce 
measures  of  inflammable  air,  it  ought  to  give 
out  this  air  when  dissolved  in  an  acid,  or  some 
substance  into  which  it  enters  as  a  constituent 
part.  But  mercury  revived  from  red  precipitate 
by  inflammable  air,  boiled  in  sulphuric  acid 
gives  sulphureous  gas,  and  when  added  to 
nitric  acid,  nitrous  air,  neither  of  which  con- 
tains inflammable  air. 

"It    should    also    exhibit    some    properties, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  165 

when  subjected  to  the  action  of  chemical  agents, 
different  from  that  which  is  revived  from  a 
mercurial  calx  merely  by  an  increase  of  its 
temperature,  which  is  not  the  case;  and  if 
mercury  absorbs  inflammable  air,  that  which 
is  revived  without  addition,  when  heated  in 
inflammable  air  should  absorb  some  of  it  which 
it  will  not  do. 

"It  certainly  is  not  probable,  that  an  ounce 
of  mercury  containing  more  than  twelve  quarts 
of  hydrogenous  gas,  should  have  the  same 
external  appearance,  and  exhibit  the  same 
chemical  properties,  as  that  which  does  not 
contain  one  particle  of  this  air. 

"Dr.  Priestley  not  only  believes,  that  when 
red  precipitate  is  heated  in  hydrogenous  gas, 
the  inflammable  air  enters  into  the  metal, 
but  that,  the  pure  air  of  the  metallic  calx  is 
diffused  through  the  hydrogenous  gas  which 
remains  behind. 

"As  a  proof  of  this  he  mentions  an  explosion, 
which  happened  from  reviving  red  precipitate, 
in  inflammable  air.  I  have  performed  this 
experiment  with  different  proportions  of  red 
precipitate,  twenty  times,  and  have  never 
met  with  any  accident  (p.  140). 

"The  inflammable  air  that  Dr.  Priestley  used, 
must  have  been  mixed  with  atmospheric  air, 
or  an  explosion  would  not  have  happened. 


166  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

That  the  pure  air  of  the  metallic  calx  is  not 
diffused  through  the  inflammable  air  which 
remains  behind,  appears  evident  from  the  follow- 
ing circumstances. 

"If  one  drachm  of  red  precipitate,  is  revived 
in  sixteen  ounce  measures  of  hydrogenous  gas, 
twelve  ounce  measures  of  the  inflammable 
air  will  disappear,  and  the  remaining  four 
ounce  measures,  will  not  be  diminished  by  the 
test  of  nitrous  air. 

"This  circumstance  has  happened  in  some 
of  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Priestley. 

"Another  objection  brought  forward  by  Dr. 
Priestley  is,  that  if  hydrogen  be  nothing  more 
than  a  component  part  of  water,  it  never  would 
be  produced,  but  in  circumstances  in  which 
either  water  itself,  or  something  into  which 
water  is  known  to  enter  is  present.  He  tells 
us,  that  upon  heating  finery  cinder  together 
with  charcoal,  inflammable  air  is  produced, 
though  according  to  the  new  theory  no  water 
is  concerned. 

"The  antiphlogistic  chemists  never  said,  that 
hydrogenous  gas  could  not  be  produced  with- 
out water;  for  it  is  a  constituent  part  of  other 
bodies,  as  alcohol  and  ammoniac. 

"To  ascertain  the  quantity  of  hydrogenous 
gas,  afforded  by  charcoal  and  finery  cinder 
exposed  to  a  high  degree  of  heat,  an  ounce  of 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  167 

the  scales  of  iron  and  the  same  quantity  of 
charcoal,  both  reduced  to  a  very  fine  powder, 
were  separately  exposed  in  covered  crucibles, 
in  an  air  furnace,  well  supplied  with  fuel,  for 
five  hours.  They  were  then  taken  out  of  the 
fire,  and  mixed  while  red  hot  in  a  red  hot  iron 
mortar,  triturated  with  a  red  hot  pestle,  formed 
of  an  iron  ramrod,  were  poured  upon  a  red 
hot  piece  of  sheet  iron,  and  instantly  put  into 
a  red  hot  gun  barrel,  which  was  fixed  in  one 
of  Lewis's  black  lead  furnaces,  and  which  com- 
municated with  the  worm  of  a  refrigeratory, 
a  part  of  a  hydropneumatic  apparatus.  Imme- 
diately after  luting  one  end  of  the  gun  barrel 
to  the  worm,  one  hundred  and  forty-ounce 
measures  of  inflammable  air  came  over  in 
torrents,  mixed  with  one-tenth  part  of  carbonic 
acid  gas  (p.  136). 

"This  experiment  has  puzzled  all  the  advo- 
cates of  the  antiphlogistic  system,  to  whom 
it  has  been  mentioned.  Many  consider  it  as  a 
powerful  blow  at  the  new  doctrine,  and  every 
person  explains  it  in  a  different  manner. 

"Dr.  Priestley's  theory  of  it  is  very  unsatis- 
factory, for  he  says  that  the  water  from  the 
finery  cinder,  uniting  with  the  charcoal  makes 
the  inflammable  air,  at  the  same  time  that 
part  of  the  phlogiston  from  the  charcoal  con- 
tributes to  revive  the  iron. 


170  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

acid,  is  quite  sufficient  to  take  all  the  oxy- 
genous gas  that  disappears  in  this  process. 

"That  the  Doctor's  ideas  are  not  just  on 
this  subject,  we  have  the  most  conclusive 
evidence. 

"If  half  a  drachm  of  the  filings  of  bar  iron, 
are  melted  in  twenty  ounce  measures  of  pure 
air,  thirteen  ounce  measures  of  the  air  will 
be  absorbed  by  the  iron,  which  will  be  con- 
verted into  finery  cinder.  Half  an  ounce 
measure  of  carbonic  acid  gas  will  be  produced. 

"Lavoisier  tells  us,  if  the  iron  is  pure,  no 
fixed  air  will  be  obtained;  and  certainly  Dr. 
Priestley  will  not  say,  that  thirteen  ounce 
measures  of  oxygenous  gas  enter  into  the 
composition  of  half  an  ounce  measure  of  fixed 
air,  which  must  be  the  case  if  his  theory  is  true. 

"Here  then  are  twelve  and  a  half  ounce 
measures  of  pure  air,  which  cannot  be  accounted 
for  according  to  the  system  of  Dr.  Priestley, 
and  when  we  see  a  substance  produced,  by 
melting  iron  in  oxygenous  gas,  resembling 
the  scales  of  iron  in  every  property,  and  can- 
not account  for  the  air  which  disappears  but 
by  supposing  it  is  imbibed  by  the  iron,  can  we 
hesitate  to  pronounce,  that  the  scales  of  iron 
contain  oxygen? 

"The  Doctor  likewise  supposes,  that  if  oxygen 
was  lodged  in  a  calx  of  iron,  it  would  dephlo- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  171 

gisticate  the  muriatic  acid  which  minium  in- 
stantly does,  and  which  we  grant  does  not 
contain  a  third  as  much  pure  air  as  a  calx  of  iron. 

"To  determine  if  finery  cinder  would  dephlo- 
gisticate  the  muriatic  acid,  four  ounces  of  the 
acid,  were  distilled  upon  three  ounces  of  the 
powdered  scales  of  iron,  without  success. 

"An  attempt  was  also  made  to  dephlogisticate 
the  acid,  by  distilling  two  ounces  of  the  sulphuric 
acid,  upon  three  ounces  of  common  salt,  and 
as  much  of  the  scales  of  iron,  without  effect. 
The  quantity  of  oxygen  contained  in  these 
scales,  must  have  been  several  hundred 
measures. 

"These  trials  however  do  not  invalidate 
anything  which  has  been  advanced  by  the 
antiphlogistic  chemists,  for  the  oxygenation 
of  the  muriatic  acid,  does  not  depend  so  much 
upon  the  quantity  of  pure  air  contained  in  a 
calx,  as  upon  its  readiness  to  give  out  this  air 
to  the  acid;  when  the  attraction  between  the 
oxygen  and  metal  is  greater  than  between  the 
oxygen  and  the  acid,  the  acid  will  not  be  oxy- 
genated. This  is  the  case  with  iron. 

"A  proof  that  the  oxygenation  of  the  muriatic 
acid,  does  not  depend  merely  upon  the  quantity 
of  oxygen  contained  in  a  calx  is,  that  a  drachm 
of  manganese,  which  has  been  exposed  several 
hours  to  a  red  heat,  and  parted  with  the  greatest 


172  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

part  of  its  pure  air,  will  oxygenate  the  muriatic 
acid  to  a  greater  degree,  than  one  ounce  of 
mercurius  cinereus,  or  the  calx  obtained  by 
boiling  caustic  alkali  upon  turbith  mineral, 
which  contains  thirty  times  as  much  pure  air. 

"The  Doctor  likewise  observes,  if  finery  cinder 
was  iron  partially  oxygenated,  it  would  go  on  to 
attract  more  oxygen  from  the  atmosphere,  and 
in  time  be  converted  into  a  rust  of  iron. 

"In  order  to  determine  if  finery  cinder 
would  attract  oxygen,  the  focus  of  the  lens 
was  thrown  upon  a  quantity  of  it,  confined 
in  pure  air,  which  was  not  absorbed. 

"The  steam  of  water  was  also  passed  over 
it  for  several  hours,  when  red  hot  in  an  iron 
tube,  but  it  suffered  no  alteration. 

"One  ounce  of  it  reduced  to  a  fine  powder, 
was  exposed  to  the  action  of  atmospheric  air 
upwards  of  twelve  months,  and  sprinkled  with 
water  several  hundred  times,  and  at  the  end 
of  this  time,  was  as  free  from  rust,  as  when 
first  exposed,  while  an  ounce  of  iron  filings 
moistened  with  water,  were  covered  with  rust 
in  three  days. 

"I  acknowledge  that  finery  cinder  cannot 
be  converted  into  rust,  but  cannot  see  in  what 
manner  this  makes  against  the  antiphlogistic 
system.  When  bar  iron  is  converted  into 
finery  cinder,  it  parts  with  the  small  quantity 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  173 

of  coal  it  contained,  and  absorbs  oxygen  and 
water. 

"The  rust  of  iron  differs  from  it  materially, 
for  it  contains  a  portion  of  carbonic  acid,  and 
although  the  French  chemists  consider  this 
preparation  as  a  carbonate  of  iron,  I  do  not 
think  it  is  entitled  to  this  appellation,  for  one 
ounce  of  it  yields  but  four  ounces  of  fixed  air, 
whereas  the  same  quantity  of  the  precipitate 
from  green  vitriol  by  the  common  pot-ash 
of  the  shops,  yields  thirty -two  ounce  measures, 
and  deserves  this  character  with  more  propriety. 

"A  strong  proof  that  finery  cinder  contains 
oxygen  is,  that  when  it  is  heated  in  hydro- 
genous gas,  it  makes  a  large  quantity  of  it 
disappear,  and  I  have  shewn,  that  when  metallic 
calces  are  heated  in  this  air,  that  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  inflammable  air,  is  always  in  strict 
proportion  to  the  pure  air  which  they  contain. 

"4.  Of  Carbonic  Acid  or  Fixed  Air. 

"According  to  the  advocates  of  the  anti- 
phlogistic system,  the  carbonic  acid  or  fixed 
air,  is  a  combination  of  charcoal  and  oxygen. 
They  are  of  this  opinion  for  two  reasons. 

"First.  If  charcoal  be  plunged  in  a  vessel 
of  oxygen  gas,  the  whole  of  it  will  be  consumed, 
and  carbonic  acid  gas  will  be  produced. 

"Secondly.  It  is  well  known,  that  all  the 
calces  of  mercury  may  be  reduced  without  any 


174  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

addition  and  will  afford  oxygenous  gas,  but  if 
charcoal  be  mixed  with  them,  the  carbonic 
acid  gas  will  be  formed,  and  the  charcoal  will 
be  consumed. 

"Dr.  Priestley,  in  opposition  to  this  opinion, 
declares,  that  large  quantities  of  fixed  air  have 
been  procured  in  his  experiments,  where  neither 
charcoal  nor  anything  containing  it  was  con- 
cerned. 

"He  says,  when  the  purest  malleable  iron  is 
heated  in  dephlogisticated  air,  a  considerable 
quantity  of  fixed  air  is  formed.  He  tells  us, 
in  the  first  edition  of  his  works,  that  there  is 
but  a  small  portion  of  fixed  air,  formed  in  this 
process. 

"Four  experiments  were  made  to  determine 
this  question. 

"Melting  by  the  burning  lens,  half  a  drachm 
of  the  filings  of  bar  iron,  filed  for  the  purpose, 
in  twenty-four  ounce  measures  of  oxygenous 
gas,  which  had  been  well  washed  in  lime  water, 
eleven  ounce  measures  of  the  air  were  imbibed 
by  the  metal,  and  half  an  ounce  measure  of 
carbonic  acid  gas  was  produced. 

"One  drachm  of  the  same  kind  of  filings, 
melted  in  thirty-six  ounce  measures  of  oxy- 
genous gas,  gave  one  ounce  measure;  one 
drachm  and  a  half,  an  ounce  and  the  eighth 
of  an  ounce  measure;  and  two  drachms,  one 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  175 

ounce  and  the  sixth  part  of  an  ounce  measure 
of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

"One  ounce  of  this  iron  in  small  pieces, 
dissolved  the  sulphuric  acid  and  water,  left  a 
residuum  of  one-half  grain  of  charcoal. 

"There  was  evidently  then  not  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  coal,  contained  in  this  iron,  to 
account  for  the  carbonic  acid  produced,  by 
melting  the  iron  in  oxygenous  gas,  according 
to  this  analysis,  which  is  certainly,  not  imperfect. 

"The  inflammable  air,  produced  by  dis- 
solving bar  iron,  in  diluted  sulphuric  acid, 
holds  a  portion  of  charcoal  in  solution,  which 
is  not  easily  detected,  owing  to  the  very  small 
quantity  of  coal,  being  equally  diffused  through 
a  large  quantity  of  hydrogenous  gas,  for  the 
portion  of  coal  cannot  be  more  than  three 
grains,  in  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  ounce 
measures  of  inflammable  air. 

"That  the  carbonic  acid  produced  in  this 
process,  does  actually  proceed  from  the  charcoal 
contained  in  the  metal,  we  have  the  most  con- 
clusive proofs,  for  the  quantity  of  it  obtained, 
is  always  in  proportion  to  the  coal  obtained  in 
iron. 

"Bar  iron  contains  a  very  small  quantity 
of  coal,  compared  to  cast  iron,  and  by  heating 
cast  iron  in  hydrogenous  gas,  much  more  car- 
bonic acid  may  be  produced  than  from  bar-iron. 


176  JAMES  IWOODHOUSE 

"Dr.  Priestley  says,  that  the  plumbago  con- 
tained in  iron,  could  not  be  disengaged  from 
it  in  this  process,  and  if  it  could,  it  would  not 
yield  the  hundredth  part  of  the  fixed  air  that  is 
produced. 

"The  charcoal  contained  in  plumbago,  can 
certainly  be  disengaged  from  it  with  the  greatest 
ease,  for  every  particle  of  it,  is  exposed  to  a 
high  degree  of  heat  in  oxygenous  gas. 

"Two  other  arguments  used  by  the  Doctor, 
to  prove  that  fixed  air  may  be  procured  without 
charcoal,  are: 

"That  a  great  quantity  of  this  kind  of  air, 
may  be  produced  from  heating  a  mixture  of 
iron  filings  and  red  precipitate,  or  iron  filings 
and  turbith  mineral. 

"Five  attempts  were  made  to  obtain  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  by  exposing  from  half  an  ounce 
to  an  ounce  of  red  precipitate,  mixed  with  an 
ounce  and  two  ounces,  of  the  filings  of  bar  iron, 
filed  for  the  purpose,  to  a  red  heat,  in  a  clean 
iron  tube,  without  success.  The  mercury  of 
the  precipitate  was  revived,  no  air  was  obtained, 
and  the  iron  was  reduced  to  a  calx. 

"Mixing  five  drachms  of  the  same  kind  of 
filings,  and  as  much  turbith  mineral,  and  expos- 
ing the  whole  to  a  red  heat,  the  same  result 
happened. 

"Having  then  recourse  to  cast  iron  half  an 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  177 

ounce  of  red  precipitate  was  mixed  with  an 
ounce  of  the  borings  of  cannon,  and  thirty -two 
ounce  measures  of  air  were  obtained,  eleven 
of  which  were  fixed,  and  twenty-one  inflam- 
mable. 

"One  ounce  of  this  iron,  without  any  red 
precipitate,  exposed  to  a  red  heat,  gave  forty 
ounce  measures  of  air,  eight  of  which  were 
fixed  and  thirty-two  inflammable. 

"One  ounce  of  these  borings,  dissolved  in 
sulphuric  acid  and  water,  left  a  residuum  of 
thirty-four  grains,  eighteen  of  which  were  coal 
and  sixteen  siliceous  earth. 

"The  carbonic  acid  gas  obtained  in  these 
experiments,  evidently  proceeded  from  the  coal, 
contained  in  the  cast  iron. 

"The  Doctor  also  obtained  carbonic  acid, 
by  heating  the  charcoal  of  copper  in  dephlo- 
gisticated  air.  This  charcoal  of  copper  is  made 
by  passing  the  steam  of  alkohol  over  red  hot 
copper,  and  as  it  consists  principally  of  carbon, 
which  is  one  of  the  component  parts  of  alkohol, 
no  argument  can  be  adduced  from  it,  in  support 
of  his  hypothesis. 

"He  also  supposes  that  the  fixed  air,  pro- 
cured in  animal  respiration,  is  formed  without 
charcoal,  but  as  we  feed  upon  vegetable  sub- 
stances, which  contain  coal,  the  carbonic  acid, 
thrown  out  of  the  lungs,  must  be  formed  of 


176  JAMES  IWOODHOUSE 

"Dr.  Priestley  says,  that  the  plumbago  con- 
tained in  iron,  could  not  be  disengaged  from 
it  in  this  process,  and  if  it  could,  it  would  not 
yield  the  hundredth  part  of  the  fixed  air  that  is 
produced. 

"The  charcoal  contained  in  plumbago,  can 
certainly  be  disengaged  from  it  with  the  greatest 
ease,  for  every  particle  of  it,  is  exposed  to  a 
high  degree  of  heat  in  oxygenous  gas. 

"Two  other  arguments  used  by  the  Doctor, 
to  prove  that  fixed  air  may  be  procured  without 
charcoal,  are: 

"That  a  great  quantity  of  this  kind  of  air, 
may  be  produced  from  heating  a  mixture  of 
iron  filings  and  red  precipitate,  or  iron  filings 
and  turbith  mineral. 

"Five  attempts  were  made  to  obtain  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  by  exposing  from  half  an  ounce 
to  an  ounce  of  red  precipitate,  mixed  with  an 
ounce  and  two  ounces,  of  the  filings  of  bar  iron, 
filed  for  the  purpose,  to  a  red  heat,  in  a  clean 
iron  tube,  without  success.  The  mercury  of 
the  precipitate  was  revived,  no  air  was  obtained, 
and  the  iron  was  reduced  to  a  calx. 

"Mixing  five  drachms  of  the  same  kind  of 
filings,  and  as  much  turbith  mineral,  and  expos- 
ing the  whole  to  a  red  heat,  the  same  result 
happened. 

"Having  then  recourse  to  cast  iron  half  an 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  177 

ounce  of  red  precipitate  was  mixed  with  an 
ounce  of  the  borings  of  cannon,  and  thirty-two 
ounce  measures  of  air  were  obtained,  eleven 
of  which  were  fixed,  and  twenty-one  inflam- 
mable. 

"One  ounce  of  this  iron,  without  any  red 
precipitate,  exposed  to  a  red  heat,  gave  forty 
ounce  measures  of  air,  eight  of  which  were 
fixed  and  thirty-two  inflammable. 

"One  ounce  of  these  borings,  dissolved  in 
sulphuric  acid  and  water,  left  a  residuum  of 
thirty-four  grains,  eighteen  of  which  were  coal 
and  sixteen  siliceous  earth. 

"The  carbonic  acid  gas  obtained  in  these 
experiments,  evidently  proceeded  from  the  coal, 
contained  in  the  cast  iron. 

"The  Doctor  also  obtained  carbonic  acid, 
by  heating  the  charcoal  of  copper  in  dephlo- 
gisticated  air.  This  charcoal  of  copper  is  made 
by  passing  the  steam  of  alkohol  over  red  hot 
copper,  and  as  it  consists  principally  of  carbon, 
which  is  one  of  the  component  parts  of  alkohol, 
no  argument  can  be  adduced  from  it,  in  support 
of  his  hypothesis. 

"He  also  supposes  that  the  fixed  air,  pro- 
cured in  animal  respiration,  is  formed  without 
charcoal,  but  as  we  feed  upon  vegetable  sub- 
stances, which  contain  coal,  the  carbonic  acid, 
thrown  out  of  the  lungs,  must  be  formed  of 


178  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

this  coal,  uniting  to  the  pure  air  taken  into 
this  viscus  in  inspiration. 

"5.  Of  the  Nitric  Acid. 

"It  is  unnecessary  to  refer  Dr.  Priestley, 
to  the  experiments  of  various  chemists,  to 
prove  that  nitric  acid  is  composed  of  oxygen 
and  azote,  as  he  must  be  well  acquainted  with 
everything  that  has  been  done  upon  this  subject. 

"As  the  Doctor  obtains  this  acid  at  pleasure, 
by  decomposing  by  the  electric  spark,  a  mixture 
of  oxygenous  and  hydrogenous  gases,  in  the 
proportion  of  a  little  more  than  one  measure 
of  the  former  to  two  of  the  latter,  he  supposes 
that  the  acid  is  formed  of  these  airs.  But  let 
us  attend  strictly,  to  what  takes  place  in  experi- 
ments of  this  kind. 

"Thirty-two  ounce  measures  of  oxygenous 
gas,  obtained  from  red  lead  and  sulphuric  acid, 
and  sixty-four  ounce  measures  of  hydrogenous 
gas,  procured  from  the  borings  of  cannon  and 
diluted  sulphuric  acid,  both  of  which  had 
been  well  washed  in  lime  water,  were  intro- 
duced into  a  copper  tube,  and  decomposed 
by  the  electric  spark.  About  one  ounce  of 
water,  remained  in  the  tube,  which  after  the 
explosion,  was  filled  with  an  immense  number 
of  fine  particles  of  matter,  and  which  being 
collected  upon  a  filter  and  analyzed,  turned 
out  to  be  copper. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  179 

"The  water  was  of  a  pale  blue  color,  and 
did  not  turn  litmus  paper  red.  Evaporated 
to  dryness,  it  yielded  one  grain  and  a  half 
of  the  nitrate  of  copper. 

"This  experiment  was  repeated  with  the 
same  kind  of  airs,  and  gave  the  same  result. 

"Trying  the  hydrogenous  gas  from  muriatic 
acid  and  zinc,  and  oxygenous  gas,  from  red 
lead  and  sulphuric  acid  in  the  same  propor- 
tions, no  difference  took  place. 

"Increasing  the  quantity  of  oxygenous  gas  to 
forty  ounce  measures,  and  reducing  the  hydro- 
genous gas  to  fifty-six  ounce  measures,and  ex- 
cluding the  water,  nitrous  acid  was  produced. 

"Repeating  this  experiment  over  distilled 
water,  with  the  same  quantity  of  oxygenous 
gas,  obtained  from  red  precipitate,  and  hydro- 
genous gas  from  malleable  iron  and  -diluted 
sulphuric  acid,  the  same  quantity  of  nitrous 
acid  was  produced,  and  no  muriatic  acid  was 
formed,  as  appeared  by  the  acid  not  precipi- 
tating a  solution  of  silver  in  nitric  acid. 

"Introducing  into  the  tube,  thirty -two  ounce 
measures  of  azotic  gas,  forty  of  oxygenous  gas, 
obtained  from  the  sulphuric  acid  and  man- 
ganese, and  twenty-four  of  hydrogenous  gas, 
from  malleable  iron  by  the  diluted  sulphuric 
acid,  the  quantity  of  nitric  acid  did  not  appear 
to  be  increased. 


180  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"Repeating  the  experiment  with  sixteen  ounce 
measures  of  azotic  gas,  fifty -six  of  oxygenous 
gas  from  red  precipitate,  and  twenty-four  of 
hydrogenous  gas,  from  malleable  iron  and 
the  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  the  greatest  quantity 
of  nitric  acid  was  produced. 

"The  acid  obtained  in  any  of  these  experi- 
ments, was  not  equal  to  three  grains  of  con- 
centrated nitric  acid,  consequently  the  theory 
of  Dr.  Priestley  must  be  wrong,  for  it  is  not 
probable,  that  fifty-six  ounce  measures  of  oxy- 
genous gas,  enter  into  the  composition  of  three 
grains  of  nitric  acid. 

"The  Doctor  is  certainly  right  when  he  says, 
if  phlogisticated  air  be  purposely  introduced 
into  the  mixture  of  dephlogisticated  and  inflam- 
mable air,  it  will  not  be  affected  by  the  process. 
It  is  necessary,  however,  to  have  regard  to  the 
quality  and  proportion  of  the  oxygenous  and 
hydrogenous  gases;  when  these  airs  are  pure, 
and  contain  no  azotic  gas,  which  is  scarcely 
ever  the  case,  water  only  will  be  formed.  When 
azotic  air  is  mixed  with  them,  which  it  almost 
always  is,  that  part  of  the  oxygen,  which  does 
not  unite  to  the  hydrogen  gas  and  form  water, 
joins  with  the  azotic  gas  and  forms  the  nitric  acid. 

"When  carbonated  hydrogen  gas  is  used, 
carbonic  acid,  water  and  nitric  acid  will  be 
generated. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  181 

"That  inflammable  air  does  not  enter  into 
the  composition  of  nitric  acid  is  evident,  for 
none  of  it,  nor  anything  into  which  it  enters, 
as  a  constituent  part,  can  be  procured  from 
the  nitric  acid,  nor  any  combination  of  this 
acid  with  alkalies,  earths  or  metals. 

"On  the  other  hand,  nitric  acid  may  be 
separated  into  its  elementary  parts,  oxygenous 
and  azotic  gas;  and  if  the  acid  was  composed 
of  pure  and  inflammable  air,  it  could  be  made 
by  heating  red  precipitate  in  inflammable  air. 

"Mr.  Keir  who  analyzed  the  liquor  obtained 
by  Dr.  Priestley,  from  the  explosion  of  pure 
and  inflammable  air,  supposed  that  the  muriatic 
acid  was  always  generated  along  with  the 
nitrous. 

"As  no  muriatic  acid  was  obtained  in  my 
experiment,  when  made  over  distilled  water, 
it  is  probable  that  Dr.  Priestley  filled  his  tube 
with  pump  water,  containing  sea  salt,  or  that 
the  water  of  his  hydropneumatic  tube  con- 
tained some  marine  acid. 

"I  cannot  conclude  this  dissertation,  without 
acknowledging  my  obligations  to  Dr.  Priestley, 
for  his  polite  attention  in  shewing  me  a  variety 
of  experiments,  when  at  his  house  in  North- 
umberland, and  for  the  instruction  derived 
from  reading  his  very  valuable  dissertation, 
on  different  kinds  of  air. 


182  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"Although  I  do  not  agree  with  the  Doctor, 
in  the  theory  which  he  has  adopted,  yet  I  con- 
ceive his  entrance,  on  that  branch  of  philosophy, 
denominated  pneumatic  chemistry,  will  ever 
be  considered,  as  marking  an  era  in  the  science." 


This  "last  dissertation"  is  practically  a 
resume  of  all  that  Woodhouse  offered  at  various 
times.  It  may  almost  be  regarded  as  the  final 
word  on  the  subject  of  the  contention.  The 
declining  years  of  Priestley  demanded  a  cessation 
of  hostilities  (p.  148),  and  all  others  were  abun- 
dantly satisfied  on  the  points  at  issue;  so  the 
subject  ceased  to  occupy  any  space  in  the 
journals  of  that  time. 

Of  Priestley  one  writer  has  said:  "Thus  was 
the  ingenious  man  effectually  entangled  in  his 
errors,  his  ingenuity  helping  him  to  deceive 
himself  by  evading  the  force  of  truth.  To 
err  is  human.  If  Priestley  saw  through  a 
glass  darkly,  and  but  dimly  discerned  the  truth, 
he  at  least  strove,  so  far  as  in  him  lay,  to  reach 
the  light.  Posterity  forgives,  and  may  well 
forget,  his  errors  in  grateful  recognition  of  the 
many  noble  services  he  rendered  to  our  common 
humanity,  and  in  humbling  recollection  of  the 
suffering  and  sacrifice  with  which  those  services 
were  requited." 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  183 

To  Woodhouse  chemists  of  America  owe  a 
debt  of  gratitude  for  all  that  he  did  in  order 
that  the  newer  doctrine  might  prevail  in  this 
land.  As  Klaproth  (p.  119)  led  the  German 
scientists  away  from  that  strange  entity,  phlo- 
giston, so  did  Woodhouse  guide  his  contem- 
poraries and  the  rising  generation  of  American 
chemists  into  the  true  path.  His  efforts,  crude 
when  judged  in  the  superior  knowledge  of  the 
present,  were  however  the  rungs  of  the  ladder 
by  which  chemistry  mounted  to  its  present 
lofty  position  in  our  Republic.  The  services 
of  Woodhouse  will  not  perish,  though  they  may 
be  forgotten  in  the  great  mass  of  chemical 
discoveries  made  since  he  gave  himself  so 
completely  to  the  tasks  he  had  assumed.  His 
place  becomes  truly  unique  among  American 
chemists  and  he  will  always  be  held  in  loving 
remembrance  as  a  worthy  pioneer  in  American 
chemistry.  Now,  however,  the  time  has  arrived 
to  follow  him  for  awhile  along  other  lines. 

In  glancing  through  a  collection  of  old  Uni- 
versity letters,  attention  was  arrested  by  one, 
addressed  to  the  Trustees,  from  Woodhouse, 
Dean  of  the  Medical  School.  It  bore  the 
date,  March  2,  1802,  and  suggested  as  its  main 
purpose  that  the  medical  professors  would 
find  it  agreeable,  no  one  objecting,  to  examine 
all  candidates  for  medical  honors  on  the  twelfth 


184  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

of  that  month,  and  then  came  the  paragraph 
of  paramount  interest  in  this  story.  It  read: 

"Contemplating  a  voyage  to  London,  to 
collect  information  relating  to  the  Arts,  and 
to  make  a  collection  of  Fossils  (minerals),  I 
request  leave  of  absence  from  the  Commence- 
ment. ...  I  shall  return  to  Philadelphia, 
before  the  month  of  November." 

This  visit  was  fraught  with  much  value  to 
him.  He  made  it  a  point  to  meet  Davy  and 
other  prominent  English  chemists,  as  well 
as  to  devote  a  portion  of  his  time  to  Paris 
and  its  savants. 

With  these  he  established  most  cordial  rela- 
tions and  profited  much.  That  he  favorably 
impressed  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact, 
was  everywhere  conceded.  Silliman  mentions 
that  "just  before  leaving  London,  in  November, 
1805,  I  visited  again  the  Royal  Institution 
under  the  introduction  of  Mr.  Accum,  who  had 
formerly  been  assistant  operator  to  Professor 
Davy.  My  principal  object  was  to  see  that 
celebrated  man,  whom  we  found  in  his  labora- 
tory in  the  basement  of  the  building  (in 
Albemarle  Street)  beneath  the  lecture  room 
.  .  .,"  and  adds  that  Davy  made  cordial 
inquiry  about  Dr.  Woodhouse,  "who  was  here 
in  1802."  It  will  be  recollected  that  Silliman 
had  joined  the  ranks  of  Woodhouse's  students 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  185 

late  in  1802,  and  in  his  diary  notes  that  Wood- 
house  "had  just  returned  from  London,  where 
he  had  been  with  Davy  and  other  prominent 
men.  He  brought  with  him  a  galvanic  battery 
of  Cruikshank's  construction  .  .  .  the  first  I 
had  ever  seen  .  .  .  but  as  it  contained  only 
fifty  pairs  of  plates,  it  produced  little  effect." 
A  fact  of  still  greater  moment  to  chemists — 
particularly  American  chemists — is  that  on 
this  sojourn  to  Paris  and  London,  Woodhouse 
took  occasion  to  address  the  editor  of  Nicholson's 
Journal: 

"PATER  NOSTER  Row,  May  27,  1802. 
"SiR, 

"I  enclose  for  the  Philosophical  Journal,  the  results  of 
various  experiments,  made  in  Philadelphia  in  the  year 
1801,  upon  the  seeds,  leaves,  etc.  of  a  variety  of  plants, 
which  seem  to  prove,  that  growing  vegetables,  contrary  to 
an  opinion  almost  universally  adopted,  do  not  purify 
atmospherical  air;  and  that  whenever  they  appear  to  afford 
oxygenous  gas,  it  is  by  devouring  the  coal  of  carbonic 
acid  for  food,  and  leaving  its  oxygen  in  the  form  of 
pure  air." 

Priestley  and  Ingenhouz  had  announced  at 
various  times  "the  property  of  vegetables 
growing  in  the  light  to  correct  impure  air." 
This  had  been  seriously  doubted  by  Wood- 
house  who  by  a  series  of  bold  and  well-devised 
experiments,  as  elaborately  communicated  in 


186  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

the  communication  to  Nicholson,  to  which 
reference  has  just  been  made,  contends  that 
plants  in  growing  and  seeds  in  germinating 
do  not  purify  the  air  we  breathe;  but  when- 
ever they  appear  to  afford  oxygen,  it  is  by 
devouring  the  coal  of  the  carbonic  acid  gas 
for  food,  and  leaving  its  oxygen  in  the  form 
of  pure  air.  He  also  made  experiments  on  the 
effects  produced  by  leaves  of  plants  in  air, 
impregnated  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  exposed 
to  sunlight;  the  carbonic  acid  disappeared, 
and  the  "oxygenous"  gas  increased.  "And 
from  trials  made  with  the  fresh  leaves  of  many 
different  plants,  exposed  in  sunshine  in  pump- 
water,  Schuylkill  water,  and  this  latter  charged 
with  carbonic  acid,"  he  is  confirmed  in  the 
same  conclusion.  Hence  Woodhouse  felt  justi- 
fied in  denying  that  vegetables  either  decompose 
water,  emit  oxygen,  or  absorb  azote,  "as  has 
been  sometime  the  fashion  to  believe." 

The  Woodhouse  communication  is  character- 
ized by  an  abundance  of  experimental  data. 
It  must  have  been  most  convincing  to  all 
who  perused  it.  To  indicate  the  mode  of 
procedure  a  brief  quotation  may  find  place  here. 

"On  July  8,  1801,  the  day  a  little  hazy, 
although  the  sun  shone  constantly,  the  leaves 
of  Seriodendra  tulipisiera,  Cercis  canadensis, 
Tilia  Americana,  Salix  babylonica,  Polygonium 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  187 

persicarie,  Phytolacca  decandria,  Platarius  occi- 
dentalis,  Allea  rosea,  Helianthus  annus,  Amyg- 
dalus  persica,  Conferva  fontenalis,  Zea  maiz, 
Acer  Glaucium  were  immersed  in  Schuylkill 
River  water,  impregnated  with  four  quarts 
of  the  water,  saturated  with  carbonic  acid 
gas,  from  carbonate  of  lime  and  the  sulphuric 
acid.  The  leaves  produced  in  this  menstruum 
seventy-seven  drachm  measures  of  oxygenous 
gas,  of  a  very  high  degree  of  purity,  whereas 
the  leaves  of  the  same  plants,  separately  exposed 
in  forty  ounce  measures  of  the  water  of  the 
river  alone,  produced  about  ten  drachm  measures 
of  an  air,  the  principal  part  of  which  was 
azotic  gas." 

Even  at  this  remote  date  these  endeavors 
of  Woodhouse  are  worthy  of  sympathetic  study. 
He  shows  in  all  of  them  his  power  as  an  experi- 
menter. His  devotion  to  experimentation  was 
contagious.  His  associates  could  not  fail  to 
imitate  him,  or  else  cease  criticism  because 
of  lack  of  facts. 

In  this  experimental  undertaking  there  is 
every  proof  of  Woodhouse's  ability.  He  was 
a  quiet  but  forceful  leader.  He  possessed  the 
originative  faculty  and  applied  it  unstintedly. 

Having  practically  silenced  all  opposition 
to  the  French  views  on  combustion,  on  the 
composition  and  decomposition  of  water,  he 


188  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

\ 

again  appears  as  a  victorious  contender  in 
still  another  subtle  problem  which  also  reveals 
him  as  one  very  familiar  with  the  science  of 
botany.  There  is  every  evidence  that  he 
had  been  broadly  trained,  and  brought  to 
his  several  tasks  a  mind  open,  but  provided 
with  that  wide  knowledge  which  is  so  essential 
for  the  real  investigator.  Though  young, 
compared  with  his  foremost  competitors,  he 
was  blest  with  unusual  gifts,  and  best  of  all 
used  them,  despite  the  derogatory  words  of 
such  men  as  Caldwell  who  said  he  was  "phleg- 
matic and  saturnine  .  .  .  displaying  .  .  .  the 
crotchets,  which  characterize  genius."  Per- 
haps in  the  last  analysis  the  best  answer  to 
such  remarks  was  that  the  success  attained 
by  Woodhouse  was  assured.  His  record  remains 
unsullied,  and  in  minutest  details  may  be 
scrutinized  with  satisfaction  and  pride. 

To  digress  for  a  moment,  it  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  remind  chemists  of  the  intense  excite- 
ment which  prevailed  in  1807  on  the  isolation 
of  the  metals,  potassium  and  sodium,  by  Davy, 
using  the  Voltaic  current.  In  this  country 
also  a  profound  impression  was  made  by  the 
discovery.  It  is  known  that  efforts,  with 
electricity  as  agent,  were  instituted  to  solve 
a  number  of  other  problems.  These,  however, 
do  not  belong  here.  The  preceding  facts  have 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  189 

been  alluded  to  for  the  purpose  of  directing 
the  reader's  attention  to  the  way  in  which 
these  two  new  metals  had  been  obtained,  and 
to  add  that  in  the  year  following  (1808)  history 
reports  their  separation  from  the  alkaline  bases 
by  Gay-Lussac  and  Thenard,  on  exposing  these 
bodies  to  a  white  heat.  Curaudau  accomplished 
the  same  thing  by  substituting  carbon  for 
iron.  It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  same  year 
(1808)  James  Woodhouse  observed,  on  expos- 
ing a  half  pound  of  soot  in  powder,  mixed 
with  two  pounds  of  pearlash,  in  a  covered 
crucible,  to  the  intense  heat  of  an  iron-furnace, 
for  two  hours,  that  he  got  a  mass  which,  when 
cold,  was  emptied  upon  a  plate  and  when  it 
was  covered  with  a  small  quantity  of  cold 
water,  "immediately  caught  fire."  In  the 
course  of  his  remarks,  relative  to  the  behavior 
of  the  mass,  he  asked,  "could  it  be  due  to  the 
peculiar  metal,  which  Professor  Davy  has 
discovered?"  Again  he  got  the  metal  by 
employing  potash.  Here,  then,  in  the  New 
World  was  a  student  liberating  potassium, 
by  an  entirely  novel  method,  for  it  is  certain 
that  Woodhouse  was  unacquainted  with  the 
discoveries  of  Gay-Lussac  and  Thenard,  and 
that  of  Curaudau.  Their  publications  could 
not  have  reached  him  at  the  time  he  reported 
his  experiences.  Nowhere  in  chemical  litera- 


190  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

ture  is  credit  given  Woodhouse  for  this  dis- 
covery. Thomas  Cooper  who  came  out  to 
America  with  Priestley,  living  with  him  for 
awhile,  on  one  occasion  wrote  his  son-in-law, 
Dr.  Manners,  of  Philadelphia,  that  he  knew 
of  Woodhouse's  isolation  of  potassium.  It 
may  be  argued  that  Woodhouse  did  not  realize 
the  significance  of  his  experiment,  and  did 
not  recognize  his  potassium  as  such.  If  this 
was  true  at  first,  he  did  later  certainly  com- 
prehend the  problem  in  all  its  phases,  and 
therefore  deserves  honor  equally  with  Gay- 
Lussac,  and  Thenard,  as  well  as  with  Curaudau. 
In  fact  it  was  his  method  which  Brunner  subse- 
quently employed  to  get  potassium,  a  method 
on  which  Robert  Hare  wrote  rather  extensively 
and  which  in  many  points  he  decidedly 
improved.  To  go  further,  it  was  the  method 
especially  applied  by  Berzelius  and  Wohler; 
and  was  continued  for  years  to  obtain  large 
quantities  of  the  metal.  Pains  are  here  taken 
to  disclose  this  piece  of  Woodhouse's  work 
that  due  recognition  may  be  accorded  him. 
It  should  be  a  matter  of  pride  and  joy  to 
American  chemists.  True,  it  is  another  instance, 
where  the  real  originators  of  methods  or  dis- 
coverers are  overlooked  in  the  haste  with  which 
work  is  sometimes  done.  It  is  a  late  day 
to  speak  of  all  this,  but  there  is  no  desire  to 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  191 

detract  from  the  work  of  any  others,  it  being 
merely  desired  to  record  Woodhouse's  activities 
as  fully,  carefully  and  truthfully  as  possible. 

It  seems  even  more  proper  to  emphasize  this 
observation  in  the  light  of  the  keen  interest 
displayed  at  that  time  by  scientists  throughout 
the  world,  which  is  quite  clearly  set  forth 
in  an  article  dated  Paris,  March  4,  1808.  It 
was  from  the  pen  of  Professor  Frederick  Hall 
of  Vermont,  who  addressed  it  to  the  editor 
of  the  Philadelphia  Medical  and  Physical  Journal, 
Vol.  3,  p.  7.  It  reads: 

"I  have  lately  received  a  letter  from  Sir 
Charles  Blagden,  formerly  secretary  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  London,  in  which  he  gives 
an  account  of  an  important  chemical  discovery, 
which  Mr.  Davy,  a  lecturer  in  the  Royal  Insti- 
tution, has  recently  made.  This  indefatigable 
professor  has,  by  means  of  Volta's  galvanic 
pile,  discovered  the  bases  of  potash  and  soda. 
'He  has  obtained  them,  separately,'  says  Sir 
Charles,  'and  they  look  like  metals,  both  in 
their  solid  and  fluid  form.  They  also  combine 
with  metals,  preserving  their  metallic  appear- 
ance. With  oxygen  they  recompose  potash 
and  soda.' 

"The  French  chemists,  with  eagerness,  caught 
this  intelligence,  repeated  the  necessary  experi- 
ments, and  found  a  result  similar  to  that  of 


192  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

Mr.  Davy.  Messrs  Thenard  and  Gay-Lussac, 
two  of  the  most  persevering  and  distinguished 
chemists  of  the  age,  have  continued  to  torture 
these  substances  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and 
have,  at  length,  learned  that  they  can  be 
decomposed  by  a  chemical  process,  without 
the  aid  of  galvanism.  The  decomposition  is 
effected  by  combining  these  alkalies  with  carbon 
and  iron,  by  means  of  a  very  high  temperature. 
From  a  combination  of  carbon  and  potash 
or  soda,  results  a  black  mass,  which  suddenly 
inflames  when  placed  in  contact  with  the  air, 
or  plunged  into  water.  The  metal  is  obtained 
perfectly  pure,  when  iron  is  employed  instead 
of  carbon. 

"Messrs.  Thenard  and  Gay-Lussac  have 
already  submitted  the  metal  to  a  number  of 
interesting  trials,  the  success  of  which  will 
soon  be  made  public.  Much  is  expected 
from  their  labours;  and  indeed,  it  is  generally 
believed,  here,  that  this  discovery  will  gradually 
lead  to  others  of  equal,  and  perhaps,  superior 
importance.  As  the  metals  of  potash  and 
soda  can  now  be  easily  procured,  in  abundance, 
the  relations,  which  they  sustain  to  other  sub- 
stances, will  undoubtedly  be  made  the  subject 
of  chemical  investigation. 

"It  is  Mr.  Davy's  opinion,  'that  all  the 
different  earths  consist  of  bases  of  a  peculiar 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  193 

metallic  nature,  having  a  very  strong  affinity 
for  oxygen,  by  uniting  with  which,  they  form 
those  earths  respectively/  He  believes  that 
he  has  already  made  visible,  by  the  assistance 
of  galvanism,  the  basis  of  the  one  called  barytes. 
"I  make  this  communication,  Sir,  in  hope 
that  the  subject  may  be  sufficiently  interesting 
to  engage  you,  and  other  philosophers  on  your 
side  the  Atlantic,  to  unite  your  labours  with 
those  of  the  English  and  French  in  this  new 
field  of  physical  inquiry." 


Having  followed  Woodhouse  in  his  wrestlings 
with  the  problems  presented  by  phlogiston; 
in  his  interesting  experiences  in  discovering 
what  plants  do  in  the  way  of  purifying  air; 
and  lastly  having  looked  in  upon  his  highly 
novel  way  of  setting  potassium  free  from  its 
hydroxide,  the  remainder  of  his  experiences 
cannot  fail  to  attract  even  more  strongly. 

He  had  established  himself  firmly  in  the 
affections  of  his  colleagues  and  students,  who 
realized  the  earnestness  with  which  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  problems  chosen  for  study; 
and  they  had  all  confidence  in  the  results  sub- 
mitted by  him  to  the  public. 

Great  quantities  of  oxygen  were  needed 
in  the  many  experiments  executed  by  Wood- 


194  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

house.  He  recommended  two  methods  for  the 
preparation  of  it.  Speaking  of  the  expense 
attending  the  use  of  potassium  chlorate  as 
a  real  drawback  he  said,  "turbith  mineral, 
on  which  a  solution  of  potash  has  been  boiled 
to  free  it  from  sulphuric  acid,  which  cannot 
be  separated  by  water  alone,  affords  oxygen 
gas  in  a  state  of  purity  equal  to  that  derived 
from  the  oxy-muriate  of  potash  (KC1O3).  One 
ounce  of  oxide  of  mercury  prepared  in  this 
way  and  submitted  to  a  red  heat  in  an  iron  tube, 
yielded  forty  cubic  inches  of  oxygenous  gas." 

A  second  procedure  consisted  in  digesting 
finely  divided  manganese  peroxide  with  diluted 
sulphuric  acid,  "when  oxygenous  gas  was 
obtained  in  an  equal  state  of  purity  with  the 
oxide  of  mercury,  or  the  oxy-muriate  of  potash." 
These  methods  were  given  wide  publicity  in 
the  home  and  foreign  journals.  Doubtless 
this  may  be  explained  on  the  basis  of  the 
excessive  price  of  chlorate  which  was  prohibi- 
tive. How  differently  chemists  are  now  situ- 
ated! The  desired  oxygen  may  be  had  in 
any  amount  by  any  one  of  three  or  four  excel- 
lent methods.  Indeed,  something  has  been 
accomplished  in  the  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years  since  Woodhouse  was  compelled  to  give 
attention  to  this  subject! 

It  has  already  been -stated  (p.  185)  that  upon 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  195 

Woodhouse's  return  from  England  he  brought 
with  him  a  Cruikshank  battery  and  that  this 
gave  him  a  decided  distinction.  Colleagues 
from  all  sections  were  desirous  of  seeing  it. 
It  also  impressed  his  students  greatly.  And 
who  can  say  but  that  a  study  of  it,  with  the 
results  from  it  before  his  eyes,  was  not  an 
incentive  to  Robert  Hare  in  his  efforts  to 
improve  the  Volta  cell,  and  give  eventually 
to  the  world  his  calorimotor  and  then  the 
deflagrator;  for  after  all  it  was  under  Wood- 
house's  supervision  and  guidance  that  Hare, 
and  to  some  degree  Silliman,  were  initiated 
into  their  scientific  careers.  It  was  said  of 
Davy,  that  probably  his  greatest  discovery 
was  Faraday;  would  it  be  too  much  to  assert 
of  Woodhouse  that  his  greatest  discovery  was 
Robert  Hare? 

The  use  of  the  Cruikshank  battery  by  Wood- 
house  might  well  be  expected  to  have  led  him 
to  endeavor  to  inaugurate,  by  means  of  it, 
lines  of  inquiry,  but  there  is  only  a  single 
instance  preserved  among  his  papers  which 
shows  anything  of  this  kind.  It  is  a  paper 
"on  galvanic  experiments."  Some  of  the  facts 
are  briefly  that: 

"The  doctor  having  placed  a  quantity  of 
mercury  in  a  plate,  covered  it  to  the  depth  of 
an  inch,  with  distilled  water. 


196  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"He  then  introduced  an  iron  wire,  connected 
with  the  copper  pole,  of  an  apparatus,  formed 
of  sixty  plates  of  copper  and  zinc,  four  inches 
square,  into  the  mercury,  and  immersed  the 
other  wire,  applied  to  the  zinc  pole,  into  the 
water,  so  as  to  bring  it  as  nearly  as  possible 
in  contact  with  the  mercury,  without  touching  it. 

"Immediately  a  constant  stream  of  vivid 
and  intense  light,  issued  from  the  end  of  the 
wire,  which  could  be  kept  up  any  length  of 
time. 

"It  was  accompanied  with  a  hissing  noise, 
and  an  oxidation  of  the  iron. 

"The  light  produced  from  wires  of  platina, 
gold,  silver,  copper,  zinc  and  tin,  and  from  the 
zinc  and  copper  poles,  and  was  visible  in  sper- 
maceti oil,  oil  of  turpentine,  spirit  of  wine, 
sulphuric  acid,  carbonic  acid  gas,  azotic  air, 
nitrous  gas  and  pure  inflammable  air,  when 
placed  over  mercury. 

"It  was  not  greater  in  oxygen  air,  than  in 
carbonic  acid  gas,  and  was  of  the  colour  of  the 
electric  light. 

"When  a  piece  of  fine  iron  wire,  half  an  inch 
in  length,  was  laid  upon  the  mercury,  covered 
with  water,  and  the  copper  pole  wire  was 
immersed  in  mercury,  and  the  zinc  pole  wire 
was  introduced  into  the  water  over  the  wire, 
it  was  repelled  with  great  velocity,  and  the 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  197 

whole  of  the  mercury  was  violently  agitated, 
and  when  any  light  substances  were  found 
swimming  on  its  surface,  they  were  dispersed 
in  all  directions. 

"By  means  of  gold  wires,  placed  in  a  solu- 
tion of  pure  caustic  potash,  or  of  the  pearl  ash 
of  the  shops,  Woodhouse  obtained  five  cubic 
inches  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  gas,  of  a  high 
degree  of  purity,  in  fifteen  minutes;  whereas 
pump-water,  tried  under  the  same  circum- 
stances, for  the  same  time,  yielded  but  a  fourth 
of  a  cubic  inch  of  these  airs,  contaminated  with 
forty  per  cent  azotic  gas. 

"The  agent  Woodhouse  used,  to  excite  the 
galvanic  influence,  which  had  never  been  tried 
in  Europe,  was  a  solution  of  the  sulphate  of 
copper  or  blue  vitriol.  It  acted  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  nitric  or  sulphuric  acids,  by 
giving  oxygen  to  the  zinc,  but  was  preferable 
to  them,  as  it  did  not  produce  either  nitrous 
air  or  hydrogen  gas. 

"He  considered  the  galvanic  influence,  as 
depending  altogether  upon  oxygen,  without 
which  it  could  not  be  produced." 

It  is  just  possible  that  these  observations 
were  in  consequence  of  a  letter  which  Mr. 
W.  H.  Pepys,  Jr.,  of  London  wrote  Woodhouse 
in  these  words: 

"We  have  been  extremely  interested  lately, 


198  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

with  some  galvanic  experiments  made  by  Mr. 
Humphrey  Davy. 

"The  negative  or  the  positive  end  of  the 
trough  of  Cruickshank,  has  the  power  of  com- 
pletely decomposing  all  chemical  compounds, 
solid  or  fluid. 

"The  method  of  making  those  on  solids, 
is  by  drilling  two  holes  in  two  pieces  of  sulphate 
of  lime  or  plaister  of  Paris.  For  instance, 
they  are  placed  upright,  filled  with  distilled 
water  and  the  positive  gold  wire  is  put  in  one, 
and  the  negative  gold  wire  in  the  other:  a 
syphon  or  communication  is  then  made  between 
the  two,  by  a  piece  of  fibrous  gypsum  or 
asbestos. 

"In  a  few  minutes  by  the  test  papers,  an 
acid  is  found  in  one  and  an  alkali  in  the  other. 
The  experiment  being  continued,  gives  sul- 
phuric acid  in  one,  and  a  solution  of  lime  in 
the  other.  The  acids  arranging  themselves 
on  the  positive  side,  while  the  alkalies  and 
metallic  oxides  go  to  the  negative. 

"Metallic  wire  not  oxidable,  and  pure 
distilled  water  should  be  used  to  have  the 
effect. 

"Some  of  the  decompositions  are  attended 
with  deflagrations,  as  the  concentrated  nitrate 
of  ammoniac.  Gold  cones  or  cups,  containing 
about  eight  or  ten  drops  of  solution,  with  an 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  199 

asbestos  syphon,  are  extremely  useful  for  these 
experiments." 


Association  with  Davy,  it  would  be  thought, 
would  have  prompted  Woodhouse,  on  his  return 
from  England  to  try  the  exhilarating  effects  of 
nitrous  oxide.  Its  properties  could  not  have 
failed  to  be  the  subject  of  comment  when 
Davy  and  he  were  together,  or  when  Wood- 
house  was  in  the  company  of  other  chemists. 
It  is  scarcely  conceivable  that  he  could  have 
escaped  Davy's  enthusiasm.  "Having  inhaled 
the  gas  himself  to  learn  whether  it  would 
increase  his  stock  of  divine  afflatus,  Davy 
advised  his  friends,  Southey  and  Coleridge 
that  he  walked  amidst  the  scenery  of  the 
Avon,  rendered  exquisitely  beautiful  by  bright 
moonshine  and  with  a  minds  filled  with  pleasur- 
able feelings,  breathed  the  gas  and  indited  the 
following  effusion: 

"Not  in  the  ideal  dreams  of  wild  desire 

Have  I  beheld  a  rapture-awakening  form; 
My  bosom  burns  with  no  unhallowed  fire, 
Yet  is  my  cheek  with  my  blushes  warm, 
Yet  are  my  eyes  with  sparkling  lustre  filled; 

Yet  is  my  mouth  replete  with  murmuring  sound; 
Yet  are  my  limbs  with  inward  transport  filled, 
And  clad  with  new-born  brightness  around." 


200  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"Whether  Davy  ever  again  essayed  to  tempt 
the  Muse  when  under  the  influence  of  nitrous 
oxide  is  doubtful." 

Silliman  narrates  that  "  Woodhouse  attempted 
to  exhibit  the  exciting  effects  of  Davy's  nitrous 
oxide,  but  failed  for  want  of  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  gas,  and  the  tubes  were  too  narrow  for  com- 
fortable respiration."  He  then  proceeds  to 
recount:  "An  amusing  occurrence  which  hap- 
pened one  day  in  the  laboratory.  Hydrogen 
gas  was  the  subject,  and  its  relation  to  life. 
It  was  stated  that  an  animal  confined  in  it 
would  die;  and  a  living  hen  was,  for  the  experi- 
ment, immersed  in  the  hydrogen  gas,  with 
which  a  bell-glass  was  filled.  The  hen  gasped, 
kicked,  and  lay  still.  *  There,  gentlemen,' 
said  Woodhouse,  'you  see  she  is  dead;'  but 
no  sooner  had  the  words  passed  from  his  lips, 
than  the  hen  with  a  struggle  overturned  the 
bell-glass,  and  with  a  loud  scream  flew  across 
the  room,  flapping  the  heads  of  the  students 
with  her  wings,  while  they  were  convulsed 
with  laughter." 

From  Woodhouse  himself,  relative  to  the 
effects  of  nitrous  oxide,  came  this  printed  state- 
ment: 

"In  the  year  1802, 1  prepared  a  large  quantity 
of  the  nitrous  oxide  or  dephlogisticated  air, 
from  the  nitrate  of  ammoniac,  made  by  decom- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  201 

posing  nitre,  by  the  sulphate  of  ammoniac, 
and  by  adding  the  nitric  acid  to  sal  ammoniac. 

"A  great  number  of  gentlemen,  belonging 
to  my  chemical  class,  who  intended  to  breathe 
the  gas,  were  present  in  the  morning,  when 
I  was  filling  my  air-holders  with  it,  and  saw 
all  the  operations  going  forward. 

"In  the  afternoon,  being  alone  at  my  labora- 
tory, at  two  o'clock  the  air  was  examined, 
and  found  to  be  extremely  impure,  having 
made  use  of  too  great  a  degree  of  heat  in  generat- 
ing it. 

"Expecting  the  gentlemen  at  three  o'clock, 
the  impure  air  was  thrown  away,  and  the  air 
holders  filled  with  atmospheric  air. 

"This  air  was  breathed  by  a  variety  of  persons, 
under  the  impression  that  it  was  nitrous  oxide, 
and  the  greater  part  of  them  were  affected 
by  quickness  of  pulse,  dizziness,  vertigo,  tinnitus 
aurium,  difficulty  of  breathing,  anxiety  about 
the  breast,  &c." 

"The  following  is  a  letter  received  from 
one  of  the  gentlemen: 

"  'The  nitrous  oxide  produced  no  sensible 
effect,  for  perhaps  the  space  of  a  minute  after 
I  began  to  respire  it.  Soon  after  I  was  affected 
with  a  tinnitus  aurium,  which  affected  the 
sense  of  hearing,  in  the  same  manner  as  water, 
in  a  state  immediately  preceding  ebullition 


202  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

does.  At  the  same  time  I  had  a  sensation 
similar  to  that  produced  by  swinging;  after- 
wards a  difficulty  of  breathing  gradually  came 
on,  which  at  length  necessitated  me  to  dis- 
continue the  respiration  of  the  air.  The 
difficulty  of  breathing  and  the  tinnitus  then 
soon  subsided,  but  the  peculiar  sensation  in 
my  breast,  continued  sometime  longer,  which 
was  succeeded  by  slight  nausea,  which  con- 
tinued six  or  eight  hours.' 

"A  short  account  of  the  effects  of  the 
atmospheric  air  was  sent  to  Dr.  Mitchill  of 
New  York,  who  published  it  in  the  fifth  volume 
of  the  Medical  Repository. 

"For  many  years  after  this,  not  finding 
the  experiments  of  Mr.  Humphrey  Davy  on 
this  subject,  confirmed  by  other  chemists, 
I  believed  that  the  influence  of  the  imagination, 
caused  all  the  effects  ascribed  to  the  nitrous 
oxide. 

"In  the  winter  of  1806,  having  prepared  a 
quantity  of  this  gas,  extremely  pure,  from 
the  nitrate  of  ammoniac,  made  by  a  direct 
combination  of  the  nitric  acid  and  the  carbonate 
of  ammoniac;  two  quarts  of  it  were  adminis- 
tered to  Mr.  Henry  Latrobe,  fourteen  years 
of  age,  who  breathed  it  in  a  very  fair  manner. 
In  a  minute  he  was  most  violently  affected. 
He  walked  up  and  down  the  laboratory  with 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  203 

a  quick  step,  elevating  his  legs,  then  suddenly 
throwing  them  down  on  the  earth.  He  rubbed 
his  hands  rapidly  over  each  other,  and  laughed 
immoderately  and  convulsively.  The  tears 
rolled  down  his  cheeks  in  large  drops,  and 
he  frothed  at  the  mouth. 

"Witnessing  these  effects,  and  knowing  the 
impossibility  of  counterfeiting  such  symptoms, 
I  immediately  resolved  to  try  the  effects  of  the 
gas  on  other  persons. 

"Doses  of  two  and  four  quarts  were  always 
administered. 

"Mr.  J.  D.  McClean  upon  breathing  the 
gas,  fainted  and  recovered  in  about  three 
minutes. 

"Mr.  George  Thornton  looked  wild,  jumped 
over  a  high  railing,  and  the  effect  suddenly 
ceased. 

"Mr.  Martin  raised  his  hands  over  his  head 
and  jumped  about  the  room. 

"Mr.  Pope  placed  his  arms  a-kimbo,  and 
surveyed  the  audience  with  great  contempt. 

"Mr.  William  Barton  was  very  much 
deranged.  He  ran  about  the  laboratory,  bel- 
lowed like  a  mad  bull,  and  struck  at  every 
person  near  him.  A  week  after,  the  gas  being 
administered  to  him  a  second  time,  produced 
the  same  effect.  He  felt  an  increase  of  strength, 
after  recovering  from  the  effects  of  the  air. 


204  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  I  could  remove 
the  mouth  piece  of  the  bladder  from  his  mouth. 

"Mr.  N.  S.  Allison  fainted,  but  recovered 
in  a  few  minutes.  Upon  breathing  the  air  seven 
days  afterward  the  same  effect  was  produced. 

"Mr.  Thomas  Prioleau  exclaimed,  'I  am  in 
heaven,  ye  gods,  stars,  comets,  meteors, 
Mohamet's  jackass,  the  Elysian  fields  are  hell 
compared  with  this,'  and  then  fainted. 

"Mr.  Robert  Patterson  was  affected  with 
violent  laughter. 

"Mr.  Samuel  Jackson  in  the  same  manner. 

"Mr.  Peter  Curtis  laughed  very  heartily. 

"A  week  after,  having  a  large  air  holder, 
filled  with  atmospheric  air,  standing  along  side 
of  two  others  containing  nitrous  oxide,  the 
atmospheric  air  was  given  to  him,  but  it  pro- 
duced no  effect. 

"Mr.  Gerard  Snowden  fainted,  but  soon 
recovered. 

"Mr.  William  Handy  laughed  and  fainted. 

"Mr.  William  Tyler  fainted  and  recovered 
in  four  minutes.  Seven  days  after,  breathing 
the  air  a  second  time,  the  same  effect  was 
produced. 

"Mr.  Cornelius  Dupont  laughed  and  fainted. 

"Baron  John  de  Bretton  experienced  pleasur- 
able sensations. 

"Mr.  Benjamin  Kugler  laughed;   upon  giving 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  205 

him  atmospheric  air  a  week  afterwards,  he 
was  not  affected. 

"Mr.  Thomas  Lewis  was  much  enraged. 
He  caught  me  by  the  collar,  pulled  at  my  cravat, 
tore  my  coat,  ran  about  the  room  and  struck 
at  every  person  near  him. 

"Mr.  Evans  breathed  atmospheric  air;  it 
produced  no  effect. 

"Mr.  Wheaton  after  taking  four  quarts  of 
the  nitrous  oxide  into  his  lungs,  was  beginning 
to  be  affected;  he  cried  out  in  a  very  rapid 
manner,  'Give  me  another  bottle,  give  me 
another  bottle.' 

"The  gas  was  tried  upon  fifteen  other  persons, 
without  producing  any  effect.  Some  of  them 
breathed  it  in  a  very  fair  manner;  others  were 
much  frightened,  and  mixed  it  with  the  air 
of  the  atmosphere. 

"I  am  not  perfectly  convinced,  that  the 
gas  produces  all  the  effects  ascribed  to  it,  by 
the  justly  celebrated  Mr.  Humphrey  Davy, 
who  first  took  it  into  his  lungs;  and  I  am 
happy  in  having  this  opportunity,  of  confirming 
his  experiments." 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  include  here 
an  experience  with  this  gas,  transmitted  by  an 
early  student  of  the  old  Philadelphia  laboratory, 
after  administering  it  to  a  young  man,  just 
taking  up  chemical  studies:  "He  was  a  tall, 


206  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

handsome  youth,  with  gentle  manners,  and 
was  a  general  favorite.  He  inhaled  the  gas 
freely,  and  then  with  the  greatest  gentleness 
and  affection  of  manner  imaginable,  put  his 
arms  around  my  neck  and  placed  his  cheek 
to  mine,  first  one  side  and  then  the  other; 
when  I  remarked  that  such  evidence  of  affec- 
tionate regard  was  a  full  compensation  for  the 
pugnacious  treatment  I  had  before  received, 
and,  by  the  time  I  had  entirely  finished  my 
sentence,  he  left  me  and  embraced  the  stove- 
pipe with  equal  affection!" 

And  another  wrote:  "One  of  our  gravest 
citizens,  a  man  of  thirty -eight  or  forty  years 
of  age,  was  made  to  caper  about  like  a  monkey, 
with  all  the  extravagant  gestures  of  a  tragedian, 
and  the  grimaces  of  a  harlequin.  Some  effect 
was  produced  upon  all  that  breathed  the  gas, 
and  the  full  effect  was  manifested  in  six  instances 
out  of  eight.  One  of  these  took  place  before 
many  spectators,  and  was  so  marked  as  to 
banish  every  doubt." 

At  present,  students  of  chemistry  do  not 
include  the  inhalation  of  this  gas  among  their 
laboratory  experiences!  They  are  more  apt 
to  hear  of  it  as  an  anesthetic,  quite  benign  in 
its  effects  and  preferred  in  numerous  operations 
by  surgeons.  The  gas,  as  known  to  every- 
one, constituted  one  of  Priestley's  distinguished 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  207 

discoveries,  and  as  observed,  Woodhouse  meets 
him  again  on  his  own  ground;  but  in  the 
delightful  words  of  T.  E.  Thorpe: 

"If  by  some  evil  chance  the  cold  and  damp 
of  this  coming  winter  should  drive  some  of  you 
to  the  dentist,  and  if  after  seating  you  in  that 
awful  chair  and  harrowing  your  distracted 
nerves  with  the  sight  of  his  murderous  tools, 
he  humanely  offers  to  send  you  to  sleep  with 
his  nitrous  oxide,  by  all  means  let  him,  and, 
when  you  wake  with  the  sweet  consciousness 
that  'it  is  all  over,'  give  a  passing  benediction 
to  the  memory  of  Priestley,  for  he  first  told 
us  of  the  existence  of  that  gas." 


Reviewing  the  publications  of  Woodhouse, 
other  than  those  pertaining  to  his  experimental 
investigations,  these  present  themselves: 

1.  The    Young   Chemist9 s  Pocket   Companion 
(1797),    to    which    ample   reference   has    been 
made  (p.  77). 

2.  Parkinson's  Chemical  Pocket  Book  (1802), 
which  is  a  revision  of  the  London  second  edition 
(1801).     It  is  a  striking  volume,  with  a  great 
mass  of  facts  concisely  set  forth,  and  contains 
"a  delineation  and  account  of  another  chemical 
apparatus  invented  by  Woodhouse.    The  maker 
of  experiments  will  find  this  to  be  simple,  cheap 


208  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

and  applicable  to  a  great  variety  of  processes." 
As  this  apparatus,  termed  the  "Economical 
Laboratory"  or  "Economical  Apparatus"  of 
Woodhouse,  is  pictured  in  very  many  of  the 
books  devoted  to  chemistry,  which  appeared 
shortly  after  1800,  it  is  here  reproduced.  Its 
construction  and  uses  will  be  quite  readily 
understood  from  the  following  paragraphs: 

PLATE  1 

"Fig.  1.  A  is  a  stand,  made  of  tin,  thirteen 
inches  high,  consisting  of  a  flat  bottom,  from 
which  proceeds  four  upright  pieces,  of  the 
same  metal,  one  inch  broad,  which  are  riveted 
to  the  top,  in  which  there  is  a  round  aperture, 
three  inches  in  diameter,  to  receive  the  bottom 
of  a  retort  or  oil  flask.  B  is  one  of  Argand's 
lamps;  C,  a  retort,  luted  to  a  receiver  D, 
which  is  supported  by  a  frame  of  wood  E. 
The  case  F,  which  is  placed  over  the  retort, 
to  confine  the  heat  of  the  lamp,  is  formed  of 
two  pieces  of  tin  which  include  a  column  of 
atmospheric  air  one  inch  thick  between  them. 
It  is  ten  inches  in  height;  the  opening  in  the 
side  is  three  and  a  half  inches,  and  the  internal 
diameter  is  seven  inches. 

"Fig.  2.  A  is  a  cylindrical  vessel  of  tin, 
thirteen  inches  high,  and  twenty-one  in  cir- 
cumference, open  at  A,  so  as  to  admit  a  lamp, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  209 

with  a  round  aperture  in  the  top,  three  inches 
in  diameter.  B  is  a  circular  case,  four  inches 
high,  formed  of  two  pieces  of  the  same  metal, 
which  include  a  column  of  atmospheric  air, 
one  inch  thick,  at  the  top  and  on  the  sides. 

"The  lower  part  has  an  opening  five  inches 
in  diameter,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  upper 
part,  there  is  an  aperture,  to  receive  the  neck 
of  an  oil  flask.  C  is  a  flask,  from  which  pro- 
ceeds the  tube  D,  which  enters  the  bottle  E. 

"In  using  this  apparatus,  the  flask,  con- 
taining the  subject  of  the  operation,  must  be 
placed  on  the  cylindrical  body  A.  The  case 
B  is  then  to  be  put  over  the  flask,  and  the  tube 
D,  which  enters  a  perforated  cork,  luted  to 
it  with  a  strip  of  paper,  covered  with  a  paste, 
made  of  flour  and  water.  The  atmospheric 
air  which  B  contains,  is  a  bad  conductor  of 
heat,  hence  upon  applying  an  Argand  lamp 
to  the  bottom  of  the  flask,  the  heat  is  accumu- 
lated round  its  sides,  and  thus  prevented  from 
flying  off,  into  the  air. 

"Fig.  3.  A  is  a  cylindrical  vessel  of  tin, 
E  the  case  containing  the  atmospheric  air, 
and  F  an  oil  flask,  on  the  neck  of  which,  the 
head  of  an  alembic  B,  made  of  tin  or  copper, 
seven  inches  high,  is  placed.  C,  the  neck  of 
this  vessel,  thirteen  inches  long,  enters  an  oil 
flask  D. 


210  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"To  use  this  apparatus,  the  flask  must  be 
placed  on  the  top  of  the  cylindrical  body  A. 
The  vessel  containing  the  atmospheric  air, 
is  then  to  be  placed  over  the  flask,  and  the 
head  of  the  alembic  fixed  to  its  neck.  G,  the 
part  over  the  top  of  the  head  of  the  alembic, 
may  be  filled  with  cold  water. 

"This  economical  apparatus  may  be  used: 

"First.  In  obtaining  gases  from  certain 
substances,  which  require  the  application  of 
heat;  as  oxygenous  air,  from  manganese  or 
red  lead  and  the  sulphuric  acid;  or  ammoniacal 
gas,  from  lime  and  sal  ammoniac;  or  oxygenated 
muriatic  gas  from  manganese  and  the  marine 
acid,  &c. 

"Secondly.  In  making  ammoniac,  and  the 
liquid  and  concrete  carbonate  of  ammoniac; 
in  uniting  sulphur  with  potash,  soda  and 
lime;  to  compose  sulphuret  of  potash,  soda 
and  lime;  to  form  fulminating  mercury,  silver 
and  gold,  and  the  prussiates  of  lime,  potash,  &c. 

"Thirdly.  In  procuring  several  of  the  acids, 
as  the  nitric,  muriatic,  oxy-muriatic,  oxalic, 
fluoric,  acetic,  &c. 

"Fourthly.  In  distilling  water,  and  spirit- 
uous liquors  to  form  alcohol  &c.,  and  uniting 
the  sulphuric  acid  and  alcohol,  to  make  ether,  &c. 

"Fifthly.  In  the  drying  of  powders,  and  in 
evaporating  water,  and  some  of  the  acids  from 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

saline  solutions.  A  vessel  of  tin,  copper,  or 
glass,  or  a  queens-ware  saucer,  may  be  placed 
on  the  top  of  either  of  the  stands,  for  this 
purpose. 

"Sixthly.  In  making  experiments  upon  all 
kinds  of  dyeing,  drugs,  and 

"Seventhly.  In  analyzing  earths  and  the 
ores  of  metals,  in  the  humid  way. 

"This  apparatus  is  preferable  to  that  of 
Guy  ton  in  many  respects. 

"First.  It  is  less  expensive.  The  lamp  of 
Guyton,  is  one  of  the  worst  of  the  kind  for  a 
Chemical  Laboratory.  There  is  no  occasion 
for  a  number  of  screws,  to  elevate  or  depress 
the  retort  or  lamp,  for  a  great  or  low  heat  may 
be  made,  merely  by  raising  or  lowering  the  wick. 

"Secondly.  It  would  be  no  very  easy  matter, 
to  place  an  oil  flask  on  the  ring  of  Guyton's 
apparatus,  so  as  to  connect  a  long  tube  with 
it,  to  obtain  oxygenated  muriatic  acid  gas, 
ammonical  gas,  &c.  And  in  the  winter  season, 
the  cold  air,  acting  on  the  belly  of  the  vessel 
placed  there,  would  deprive  it  of  a  portion 
of  heat,  and  if  the  ore  of  a  metal  was  boiled 
with  an  acid,  in  an  oil  flask,  it  would  keep 
jumping  from  the  ring. 

"When  the  case  lined  with  coal  is  placed 
over  a  flask,  the  heat  is  accumulated  round  it, 
and  the  vessel  is  kept  steady  in  one  position. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE 


Retorts  are  also  procured  with  difficulty,  at 
this  time,  even  in  the  great  cities  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  of  great  consequence  then  to 
procure  a  substitute  for  them.  The  head  of 
the  copper  or  tin  alembic,  Fig.  3,  fixed  on  an 
oil  flask,  and  its  neck  communicating  with 
another,  form  a  distilling  apparatus,  which  may 
be  used,  in  a  great  many  chemical  operations. 
"These  observations  are  the  result  of  experi- 
ence. 

PLATE  2 

"Fig.  1.  The  furnace  A  is  formed  of  thick 
sheet  iron,  is  ten  inches  high  from  the  grate, 
and  ten  inches  in  diameter.  There  are  two 
holes  in  its  sides,  to  admit  an  earthen,  iron  or 
copper  tube,  and  a  door  on  one  side  to  put  in 
fuel,  when  a  still,  or  any  other  piece  of  apparatus 
is  placed  on  its  top.  B  is  a  brass  funnel,  and 
C  a  wire  of  the  same  metal,  which  enters  into 
the  tube  of  the  funnel  D,  which  is  screwed  to 
the  gun-barrel  E.  F  is  a  bent  tube  made  of 
glass,  tin  or  copper,  which  is  fixed  in  the  mouth 
of  the  gun-barrel,  and  which  enters  under  the 
shelf  H,  of  the  hydropneumatic  tub  G,  which 
should  be  made  of  cedar,  and  the  size  of  a 
common  washing  tub,  but  of  an  oval  form. 
I  is  a  thumb  screw,  to  fix  another  shelf  J  to  the 
tub.  K  is  a  bell-glass. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  213 

"If  water  or  any  other  fluid  is  put  in  the 
funnel  B,  it  may,  by  turning  the  wire,  be  made 
to  pass  drop  by  drop,  over  any  substance, 
confined  in  the  gun-barrel,  and  the  aerial  product 
will  be  received  in  the  bell  glass  K. 

"Fig.  2.  A  is  a  chafing  dish,  a  few  inches 
larger  than  the  common  size,  containing  a  gun- 
barrel  cut  in  two  parts,  and  closed  at  one  end 
by  welding.  B,  a  bent  tube,  which  enters 
under  the  shelf  of  the  hydropneumatic  box  C. 
D,  a  bell  glass. 

"Fig.  3.  A  is  a  subliming  vessel,  shaped 
flat  like  a  turnip,  and  having  a  projecting 
neck,  two  or  three  inches  in  length,  with  an 
aperture  in  it,  about  an  inch  in  diameter. 

"Fig.  4.  A  is  a  cast  iron  matrass,  sixteen 
inches  in  circumference,  and  about  a  foot 
long,  into  the  mouth  of  which  the  gun-barrel 
B  is  well  ground,  for  making  oxygen  gas,  car- 
bonated hydrogen  gas,  oxyd  of  carbon,  &c. 

"Fig.  5.  A  is  an  eight  ounce  vial,  into  the 
mouth  of  which  the  bent  tube  B  enters,  for 
making  hydrogen  gas,  nitrous  air,  carbonic 
acid  gas,  &c." 

3.  Parke's  Chymical  Catechism  was  revised 
in  1807  by  Woodhouse.  It  "is  embellished 
with  a  frontispiece  of  his  Economical  Labora- 
tory." It  is  really  a  very  attractive  book. 


214  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"The  object  of  this  publication,"  said  Nicholson's 
Magazine,  "is  to  unfold  the  Science  of  Chy- 
mistry  to  Artizans  and  Young  People  by  way 
of  question  and  answer."  It  contains  an 
address  to  parents  in  which  chemistry  is  por- 
trayed as  never  occurs  in  these  modern  days. 
For  example: 

"As  some  persons  may  not  be  apprised  of 
the  value  of  chymical  knowledge,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  enumerate  a  few  of  the  advantages 
which  arise  from  its  acquisition;  for,  in  order 
to  induce  that  general  attention  to  the  science 
which  it  deserves,  its  utility  must  be  demon- 
strated : 

"It  would  be  no  difficult  matter  to  show 
that  the  world  might  derive  great  advantages 
even  from  the  diffusion  of  a  theoretical  knowl- 
edge of  philosophy  and  chymistry.  An  instance 
or  two  will  place  this  assertion  in  a  clear  point 
of  view.  Two  thousand  years  ago,  Archimedes 
was  ridiculed  for  his  attention  to  mathematics 
and  the  abstruse  sciences;  yet,  owing  to  this 
knowledge,  he  was  enabled  to  invent  such 
mechanical  engines  as  were  sufficient  to  resist 
the  whole  Roman  army.  And  such  a  dread 
had  the  soldiers  of  this  man's  knowledge,  that 
if  a  rope  only  were  hung  down  the  walls  of  the 
city  of  Syracuse,  the  whole  army  would  retire 
from  before  it  in  the  utmost  consternation. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  215 

"A  further  proof  of  the  importance  of  the 
dissemination  of  chymical  knowledge  may  be 
taken  from  the  construction  of  the  Steam 
Engine;  Mr.  Watt  having  often  acknowledged 
that  his  first  ideas  on  this  subject  were  acquired 
by  his  attendance  on  Dr.  Black's  Chymical 
Lectures,  and  from  the  consideration  of  his 
theory  of  latent  heat  and  the  expansibility  of 
steam. 

"The  well  informed  people  of  France  are 
so  satisfied  of  the  importance  of  chymical 
knowledge,  that  chymistry  is  already  become 
an  essential  part  of  education  in  their  public 
schools.  .  .  .  The  science  that  we  are  recom- 
mending to  your  regards,  has  for  its  objects 
every  substance  of  the  material  world,  and  is 
therefore  equally  interesting  to  every  civilized 
nation  upon  earth. 

"Is  your  son  born  to  opulence, — is  he  the 
heir  to  an  extensive  domain;  make  him  an 
analytical  chymist,  and  you  enable  him  to 
appreciate  the  real  value  of  his  estate,  and  to 
turn  every  acre  of  it  to  the  best  account.  Has 
he  a  barren  tract  of  country,  which  has  been 
unproductive  from  generation  to  generation, 
he  will  explore  its  bowels  with  avidity  for 
hidden  treasures,  and  will  probably  not  explore 
it  in  vain.  By  analyzing  the  minerals  which 
he  discovers,  he  will  ascertain  with  facility  and 


216  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

exactness  what  proportion  of  metal  they  con- 
tain, and  which  of  them  may  be  worked  to 
profit.  Thus  he  will  operate  on  sure  grounds, 
and  will  be  prevented  from  engaging  in  expen- 
sive and  unprofitable  undertakings. 

"Chymistry  will  teach  him  also  how  to 
improve  the  cultivated  parts  of  his  estate; 
and,  by  transporting  and  transposing  the  differ- 
ent soils,  how  each  may  be  rendered  more 
productive.  The  analysis  of  the  soils  will  be 
followed  by  that  of  the  waters  which  rise 
upon,  or  flow  through,  them;  by  which  means 
he  will  discover  which  are  proper  for  irrigation; 
a  practice,  the  value  of  which  is  sufficiently 
known  to  every  good  agriculturist. 

"Will  he  occupy  his  own  estate,  and  become 
the  cultivator  of  his  own  land;  he  must  of 
necessity  be  a  chymist,  before  he  can  be  an 
economical  farmer.  It  will  be  his  concern 
not  only  to  analyze  the  soils  on  the  different 
parts  of  his  farm,  but  the  peat,  the  marl,  the 
lime,  and  the  other  manures  must  be  subjected 
to  experiment,  before  he  can  avail  himself 
of  the  advantages  which  might  be  derived 
from  them,  or  before  he  can  be  certain  of 
producing  any  particular  effect.  The  necessity 
of  analysis  to  the  farmer  is  evident,  from  a 
knowledge  of  the  circumstance,  that  some 
kind  of  lime  is  injurious  to  land,  and  would 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  217 

render  land  hitherto  fertile  actually  sterile. 
Besides,  a  knowledge  of  the  first  principles  of 
chymistry  will  teach  him  when  to  use  lime 
hot  from  the  kiln,  and  when  slacked;  how  to 
promote  the  putrefactive  process  in  his  com- 
posts, and  at  what  period  to  check  it,  so  as 
to  prevent  the  fertilizing  particles  becoming 
effete,  and  of  little  value.  It  will  teach  him 
moreover  the  difference  in  the  properties  of 
marl,  lime,  peat,  dung,  mud,  ashes,  alkaline 
salt,  soap  waste,  sea  water,  etc.,  etc.,  and, 
consequently,  which  are  most  suitable  for  the 
different  kinds  of  land.  A  knowledge  of  the 
chymical  properties  of  bodies  will  thus  give 
a  new  character  to  the  agriculturist,  and  render 
his  employment  rational  and  respectable. 

"Are  you  a  Practitioner  of  Medicine,  and 
have  acquired  great  and  deserved  reputation 
in  your  profession, — if  you  are  not  a  chymist, 
you  must  recollect  many  painful  disappoint- 
ments, and  must  have  witnessed  very  unex- 
pected results  from  the  effects  of  medicine, 
when  you  have  administered  two  or  more 
powerful  remedies  in  conjunction.  A  slight 
knowledge  of  chymistry  would  have  informed 
you,  that  many  of  the  formulae  in  the  Phar- 
macopeia, which  are  salutary  and  efficacious, 
are  rendered  totally  otherwise,  if  given  with 
certain  other  medicines, — not  to  say  often 


218  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

destructive.  Many  instances  of  these  chymical 
changes  might  be  adduced,  but  one  will  suffice. 
Mercury  and  oxymuriatic  acid  have  both  been 
administered  by  medical  men,  and,  separately, 
either  of  them  may  be  taken  without  any 
injury  to  the  animal  economy;  but  if  a  physi- 
cian, ignorant  of  the  chymical  operation  of 
bodies  on  each  other,  should  give  these  sub- 
stances in  conjunction,  the  most  dreadful 
consequences  might  ensue,  as  oxymuriate  of 
mercury  is  a  most  corrosive  poison. 

"Does  your  son  wish  to  follow  your  pro- 
fession, charge  him,  when  he  walks  the  hospitals, 
to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  Lectures 
on  Chymistry,  and  to  make  himself  master 
of  the  chymical  affinities  which  subsist  between 
the  various  articles  of  the  Materia  Medica. 
This  will  inspire  him  with  professional  confi- 
dence; and  he  will  be  as  sure  of  producing 
any  particular  chymical  effect  upon  his  patient 
as  he  would  if  he  were  operating  in  his  own 
laboratory.  Besides,  the  human  body  is  itself 
a  laboratory,  in  which,  by  the  varied  functions 
of  secretion,  absorption,  etc.,  composition,  and 
decomposition,  are  perpetually  going  on;  how, 
therefore,  could  he  expect  to  understand  the 
animal  economy,  if  he  were  unacquainted  with 
the  effects  which  certain  causes  chymically 
produce?  Every  inspiration  we  take,  and 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  219 

every  pulse  that  vibrates  within  us,  effects  a 
chymical  change  upon  the  animal  fluids,  the 
nature  of  which  requires  the  acuteness  of  a 
profound  chymist  to  perceive  and  understand. 
Neither  can  a  physician  comprehend  the  nature 
of  the  animal,  vegetable,  or  mineral  poisons, 
without  the  aid  of  chymistry.  Many  thousand 
lives  have  been  lost  by  poison,  which  might 
have  been  saved  if  the  physician  had  been  in 
possession  of  the  knowledge  which  he  may 
now  acquire  by  a  cultivation  of  chymical 
science.  And,  though  the  operation  of  many 
of  the  poisons  upon  the  system  be  in  these 
days  well  understood,  nothing  but  a  knowledge 
of  chymistry  can  enable  the  practitioner  to 
administer  such  medicines  as  will  counteract 
their  baneful  effects. 

"If  we  look  to  the  Manufactures  .  .  .  there 
is  scarcely  one  of  any  consequence  that  does 
not  depend  upon  chymistry,  for  its  establish- 
ment, its  improvement,  or  for  its  successful 
and  beneficial  practice.  In  order  to  see  the 
connection  which  subsists  between  chymistry 
and  the  arts,  it  will  be  necessary  to  take  a 
short  view  of  the  principal  trades. 

"One  of  the  staple  trades  ...  is  the  manu- 
facture of  iron;  and  it  will  be  found,  that 
from  the  smelting  of  the  ore  to  the  conversion 
of  it  into  steel,  every  operation  is  the  effect  of 


220  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

chymical  affinities.  In  the  first  place,  it  requires 
no  small  share  of  chymical  knowledge  to  be 
able  to  appreciate  the  value  of  the  different 
ores,  or  to  erect  furnaces  for  their  reduction, 
which  shall  be  contrived  in  the  best  possible 
manner  for  facilitating  their  fusion,  and  for 
producing  good  pigs.  The  subsequent  pro- 
cesses to  convert  it  into  malleable  iron,  are 
entirely  chymical,  and  will  be  conducted  to 
the  best  advantage  only  by  those  who  have 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  chymical  changes 
which  take  place  in  these  operations.  The 
making  of  cast  steel,  which  has  been  kept  so 
profound  a  secret,  is  now  found  to  be  a  simple 
chymical  process,  and  consists  merely  in  impart- 
ing to  the  metal  a  portion  of  carbon,  by  means 
of  fusing  it  in  crucibles  with  carbonate  of  lime. 
"The  manufacturers  of  utensils,  etc.,  in 
cast  iron  (called  iron  founders)  will  also  acquire 
some  valuable  information  by  the  study  of 
chymistry;  as  it  will  teach  them  how  to  mix 
the  different  kinds  of  metals;  how  to  appor- 
tion the  carbonaceous  and  calcareous  matter; 
and  how  to  reduce  the  old  metal,  which  they 
often  receive  in  exchange;  many  hundred  tons 
of  which  are  annually  sent  away  as  ballast  for 
ships,  for  want  of  that  knowledge,  which 
would  enable  them  to  convert  it  into  good 
salable  iron. 


JAMES  WOODHOTJSE 


"The  woollen,  the  cotton,  and  the  calico 
manufactures  are  also  become  of  great  impor- 
tance. ...  In  order  to  preserve  these  sources 
of  national  wealth,  the  utmost  attention  must 
be  paid  to  the  beauty,  the  variety,  and  the 
durability  of  their  several  colours.  Now  of 
all  the  arts,  none  are  more  dependent  upon 
chymistry  than  those  of  dyeing  and  calico 
printing.  Every  process  is  chymical;  and  not 
a  colour  can  be  imparted,  but  in  consequence 
of  the  affinity  which  subsists  between  the 
cloth  and  the  dye,  or  the  dye  and  the  mordant 
which  is  employed  as  a  bond  of  union  between 
them.  It  is  surely  then  evident  how  valuable 
a  chymical  education  must  be  to  that  youth 
who  is  designed  for  either  of  these  trades,  and 
how  necessary  is  that  portion  of  knowledge 
which  shall  enable  him  in  a  scientific  manner 
to  analyse  his  different  materials  and  to  deter- 
mine the  kind  and  the  quantity  necessary  for 
each  process.  After  all,  his  colours  will  be 
liable  to  vary,  if  he  do  not  take  into  the  account, 
and  calculate  upon,  the  changes  which  take 
place  in  them  by  the  absorption  of  oxygen. 
A  knowledge  of  which,  and  of  the  different 
degrees  of  oxidizement,  which  the  several  dyes 
undergo,  requires  no  small  share  of  chymical 
skill;  and  yet  this  skill  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary, to  enable  either  the  dyer  or  the  calico 


222  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

printer  to  produce  in  all  cases  permanent 
colours  of  the  shade  which  he  intends.  More- 
over, these  artists  must  be  indebted  to 
chymistry  for  any  valuable  knowledge  which 
they  may  acquire  of  the  nature  of  the  articles 
they  use  in  their  several  processes;  not  to 
say  that  they  are  wholly  dependent  upon  this 
science,  for  the  artificial  production  of  their 
most  valuable  mordants,  and  for  some  of  their 
most  beautiful  and  brilliant  colours. 

"The  art  of  bleaching,  which  is  so  intimately 
connected  with  calico  printing,  has  also  received 
such  great  improvement  from  the  science  of 
chymistry,  that  no  man  is  now  capable  of 
conducting  it  to  the  best  advantage  without 
a  knowledge  of  the  principles  on  which  the 
present  practice  is  established. 

"The  manufactures  of  earthen  wares  and 
porcelain,  which  were  so  much  improved  and 
extended  by  the  industrious  and  ingenious 
Wedgwood,  and  give  employment  to  thousands 
of  the  community,  are  dependent  upon  chymis- 
try for  the  successful  management  of  all  their 
branches,  from  the  mixture  of  the  materials 
which  form  the  body  of  the  ware,  to  the  pro- 
duction of  those  brilliant  colours  which  give 
a  value  to  the  manufactures  by  their  permanency 
and  beauty. 

"Mr.    Wedgwood    was    so    sensible   of    the 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  223 

importance  of  chymistry  to  these  arts,  that 
he  not  only  applied  to  the  study  of  the  science 
himself,  but  upon  the  death  of  the  celebrated 
Dr.  Lewis  ...  he  actually  engaged  his  assist- 
ant, a  Mr.  Chisolme,  to  experimentalize  with 
him,  and  to  devote  his  whole  time  to  the 
improvement  of  the  manufacture  by  the  appli- 
cation of  his  chymical  knowledge,  of  which 
perhaps  few  men  at  that  time  had  a  larger 
share.  A  faint  idea  of  the  advantages  which 
he  derived  from  these  sources  may  be  con- 
ceived from  the  following  circumstance.  Dr. 
Bancroft  in  his  Philosophy  of  permanent  colours, 
when  treating  iron,  says,  'I  remember  having 
been  told,  by  Mr.  Wedgwood,  that  nearly 
all  the  fine  diversified  colours  applied  to  his 
pottery  were  produced  only  by  the  oxides 
of  this  single  metal.'  This  one  fact  is  sufficient 
to  show  with  what  assiduous  application  he 
must  have  studied  chymical  science,  and  how 
insufficient  every  attempt  to  bring  his  manu- 
facture to  the  perfection  which  it  has  now  at- 
tained, would  have  been,  without  this  attention. 
"The  sister  art  of  making  glass  is  also  entirely 
chymical,  consisting  in  the  fusion  of  silicious 
earth  with  the  oxides  of  lead  and  alkali.  In 
this  trade,  as  well  as  in  many  others,  the 
chymical  manufacturer,  and  the  man  of  en- 
lightened experience,  will  have  many  advantages. 


224  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

He  will  not  only  know  how  to  analyse  his 
alkalies  and  to  ascertain  their  exact  value 
before  he  purchases,  but  he  will  be  enabled, 
on  chymical  principles,  to  ascertain  the  exact 
quantity  necessary  for  any  fixed  portion  of 
silex,  which  with  others  must  always  in  the 
first  instances  be  a  matter  of  uncertainty, 
and  must  repeatedly  subject  them  to  losses 
and  disappointment. 

"The  tanning  of  hides  is  a  process  which 
was  formerly  carried  on  by  persons  who  merely 
followed  a  routine  of  operations  to  which 
they  had  been  accustomed  without  knowing 
the  real  cause  of  any  of  the  changes  produced 
on  these  substances.  This  art,  which  con- 
sists in  impregnating  the  animal  matter  with 
a  peculiar  principle  taken  from  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  which  enables  it  to  resist  moisture, 
and  gives  it  great  strength  and  firmness,  has 
been  well  explained  by  Mr.  Sequin.  According 
to  him,  the  gallic  acid  of  the  bark  deoxidizes 
the  skin,  and  as  the  skin  loses  its  oxygen  the 
tan  combines  with  it,  and  forms  it  into  leather. 
It  is  now  known,  that  many  substances,  besides 
oak  bark,  contain  tan,  and  to  modern  chymistry 
we  are  indebted  for  the  means  of  discovering 
with  accuracy  the  quantity  of  tan  which  the 
several  astringent  vegetables  contain  The 
arts  will  owe  a  further  obligation  to  this  science 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  225 

whenever  it  shall  lead  the  way  to  the  discovery 
of  a  cheap  substitute  for  oak  bark.  At  present 
the  demand  is  so  great  that  it  is  not  only  im- 
ported from  the  continent,  but  trees  are  cut 
down  in  this  country  on  purpose  for  the  bark, 
which  are  of  no  other  use  whatever.  Should 
the  chymical  tanner  not  be  fortunate  enough 
to  make  a  discovery  of  the  kind  just  mentioned, 
he  will  at  least  be  able  to  analyse  the  sub- 
stances now  in  use,  and  to  appreciate  their 
relative  value;  a  matter  of  no  small  moment 
to  a  man  who  operates  upon  a  large  scale. 

"The  manufacture  of  soap,  a  trade  of  con- 
siderable importance,  .  .  .  has  in  general  been 
conducted,  like  many  of  the  foregoing,  with- 
out any  regard  to  system;  and  yet,  perhaps, 
there  is  no  art  which  may  be  benefitted  in  such 
various  ways  by  chymistry  as  this.  To  those 
who  are  designed  for  this  trade  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  recommending  the  study  of  the 
science  as  a  matter  of  the  first  importance. 
Many  thousands  per  annum,  which  are  now 
lost  to  the  community,  would  be  saved,  if  the 
trade  was  in  general  carried  on  upon  scientific 
principles.  Make  a  soap  boiler  a  good  chymist, 
and  you  teach  him  how  to  analyse  barilla,  kelp, 
potash,  etc.,  so  as  to  ascertain  the  proportion 
of  alkali  in  each,  and  which  is  the  most  advan- 
tageous for  him  to  purchase;  a  matter  of 


226  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

mere  guess  with  the  common  manufacturer. 
When  these  articles  are  at  an  exorbitant  price, 
he  will  have  recourse  to  various  residuums, 
which  he  will  decompose  by  chymical  means, 
and  make  use  of  as  substitutes.  He  will  learn, 
in  choosing  his  tallows,  how  to  avoid  those 
which  contain  a  large  proportion  of  sebacic 
acid,  which  require  much  more  barilla  than 
good  tallow,  and  yet  produce  less  soap.  He 
will  know  how  to  oxidize  the  common  oils  and 
oil  dregs,  so  as  to  give  them  consistence,  and 
render  them  good  substitutes  for  tallow.  He 
will  know  how  to  apportion  his  lime  so  as  to 
make  his  alkali  perfectly  caustic,  without  using 
an  unnecessary  quantity  of  that  article.  He 
will  be  aware  of  the  advantage  which  may  be 
derived  from  oxygenating  the  soap  while  boil- 
ing; a  knowledge  of  the  chymical  affinities 
will  teach  him  how,  at  a  cheap  rate,  to  make 
as  good  and  as  firm  a  soap  with  potash,  as 
with  the  mineral  alkali;  and  how  to  take  up 
the  heterogeneous  salts  so  as  to  give  the  alkali 
full  opportunity  of  forming  a  chymical  combi- 
nation with  the  oils,  tallows,  etc.  And  lastly, 
he  will  know  how  to  make  use  of  the  waste 
lies  so  as  to  decompose  the  salts  which  they 
contain,  and  convert  them  to  good  and  service- 
able alkali,  to  be  used  in  future  operations. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  227 

"The  brewing  of  fermented  liquors,  which 
is  a  trade  of  considerable  consequence  ...  is 
a  chymical  process  altogether.  To  those  per- 
sons, whose  concerns  are  so  large  that  it  would 
require  a  princely  fortune  to  purchase  even 
the  utensils,  it  must  surely  be  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  acquire  some  knowledge  of  the 
principles  of  bodies,  and  of  the  nature  of  those 
changes  which  take  place  in  the  materials 
upon  which  they  operate.  I  would  therefore 
say  to  such  persons,  Give  your  sons  a  chymical 
education,  and  you  will  fit  them  for  conducting, 
in  the  best  possible  manner,  the  business 
which  you  have  established.  Hence,  they 
will  learn  how  the  barley,  in  the  first  instance, 
is  converted  to  a  saccharine  substance  by 
malting;  how  the  fermentative  process  con- 
verts the  saccharine  to  a  spirituous  substance; 
and  how  the  latter,  by  a  continuation  of  the 
process,  becomes  changed  into  vinegar.  The 
nature  of  fermentation  (which  till  lately  was 
entirely  unknown)  will  be  studied  and  under- 
stood; and  they  will  not  only  have  learnt 
the  means  of  promoting  and  encouraging 
this  process,  but  how  to  retard  and  check 
it,  whenever  it  is  likely  to  be  carried 
too  far;  so  that  the  scientifick  brewer 
will  be  as  sure  of  uniformly  obtaining  sat- 
isfactory results,  as  he  would  if  he  were 


228  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

operating     on     matter     by     mere    mechanical 
means. 

"The  refining  of  sugar  is  also  a  chymical 
process;  every  branch  of  which  depends  upon 
laws  well  known  to  chymists.  The  separation 
of  the  sugar  from  the  molasses;  the  absorption 
of  the  superabundant  acid;  the  granulation 
of  the  purified  sugar;  and  the  chrystallization 
of  candy;  will  all  be  conducted  most  econom- 
ically, and  with  the  least  difficulty,  by  those 
who  have  studied  the  science  with  a  view  to 
the  improvement  of  their  art. 

"It  has  been  objected  to  the  teaching  of 
chymistry  to  youth,  that  it  is  a  science  difficult 
to  acquire;  and  that  the  terms  are  an  insuper- 
able bar  to  its  early  attainment;  but  I  am  of 
opinion,  that  the  elements  of  chymical  knowl- 
edge may  be  taught  much  earlier  than  is 
imagined  by  many  who  never  made  the  attempt; 
and  that,  instead  of  any  difficulty  arising 
from  the  technical  language  of  the  science, 
the  preceptor  will  find  the  new  nomenclature 
a  considerable  auxiliary,  greatly  facilitating 
the  communication  and  reception  of  its  general 
doctrines. 

"Moreover,  it  is  the  necessary  consequence 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  229 

of  an  attention  to  this  science,  that  it  gives 
the  habit  of  investigation,  and  lays  the  founda- 
tion of  an  ardent  and  inquiring  mind.  If  a 
youth  has  been  taught  to  receive  nothing  as 
true,  but  what  is  the  result  of  experiment, 
he  will  be  in  little  danger  of  ever  being  led 
away  by  the  insidious  arts  of  sophistry,  or  of 
having  his  mind  bewildered  by  fanaticism  or 
superstition.  The  knowledge  of  facts  is  what 
he  has  been  taught  to  esteem,  and  no  reason- 
ing, however,  specious,  will  ever  induce  him 
to  receive  as  true  what  appears  incongruous, 
or  cannot  be  recommended  by  demonstration 
or  analogy." 

The  entire  article  would  delight  the  enthu- 
siasts of  the  science.  One  wonders  how  those 
early  champions  of  the  usefulness  of  chemistry 
would  regard  the  evidences  of  its  powers  as 
exhibited  in  the  warring  countries  of  1914-18. 


4.  Chaptal's  Elements  of  Chemistry  (1807). 
This  was  a  work  written  by  a  former  Minister 
of  the  Interior  in  France.  It  was  a  famous 
book.  Four  American  editions  were  printed, 
the  last  by  "the  learned  and  indefatigable 
professor  of  chemistry  in  Pennsylvania,  who 
added  numerous  notes,  containing  information 
not  embraced  by  the  original."  The  additions 


230  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

were,  indeed,  "great  and  improved."  Present 
day  students  of  chemistry  would  profit  very 
much  if  they  were  to  examine  these  two  volumes 
with  care.  The  evidence  of  Woodhouse's  wide 
range  of  knowledge  is  seen  in  his  voluminous 
footnotes.  The  time  consumed  in  reading 
these  volumes  would  not  be  lost.  Just  as 
a  matter  of  curiosity  it  may  be  here  said  that 
in  Volume  I,  p.  218,  mention  is  made  of  agustina, 
"an  earth  found  in  the  Beryl  of  Saxony,  and 
is  so  called,  because  it  has  the  property  of 
forming  salts,  which  are  nearly  destitute  of 
taste."  Is  this  to  be  in  contradiction  to  beryl 
or  glucina,  indicating  sweet,  a  property  of  its 
salts?  According  to  Tromsdorff  the  properties 
of  agustina  are: 

"1.  It  is  white  and  insipid,  and  when  pure 
resembles  alumine. 

"2.  It  combines  with  acids,  and  forms  with 
them  salts,  which  have  little  or  no 
taste. 

"3.  It  does  not  combine  either  in  the  humid 
or  dry  way,  with  alkalies  or  their 
carbonates. 

"4.  It  retains  carbonic  acid  but  feebly;    and 

"5.  It  is  insoluble  in  water." 

Agustina  constitutes  another  of  the  long  line 
of  defunct  elements. 

Woodhouse's  edition  will  always  be  of  value 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  231 

to  the  student  of  chemical  history.  Without 
question  he  expended  his  very  best  powers 
in  its  production,  and  hence  it  was  justly 
prized  in  chemical  circles  of  the  first  decade 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 


Among  Woodhouse's  contributions  to  Ameri- 
can mineralogy  was  one  on  "a  very  curious 
ore  of  titanium  one  of  the  newly  discovered 
metals."  It  had  been  found  in  New  Jersey. 
A  rather  large  specimen  of  it  had  found  its 
way  to  Dr.  Mitchill  of  Columbia  University, 
who  in  turn  passed  it  to  Woodhouse  for  analysis. 
At  first  it  was  thought  to  be  a  zinc  ore.  Bruce, 
the  able  American  mineralogist  was  not  so 
minded.  His  views  were  shared  by  European 
correspondents.  "Their  united  opinion  was 
that  it  is  chiefly  the  oxide  of  titanium  com- 
bined with  that  other  form  of  the  metal  which, 
from  its  having  been  found  in  the  valley  of 
Menachan,  in  Cornwall,  England,  has  been 
called  Menachanite."  Accordingly,  Woodhouse 
engaged  in  its  analysis,  reporting  the  results 
to  his  friend  Mitchill  in  these  words: 

"The  specific  gravity  of  this  metal  is  5.28. 
When  viewed,  it  has  the  appearance  of  black 
spots,  the  size  of  duck  shot,  surrounded  by  a 
red  substance;  and  streaks  of  a  white  powder, 


232  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

which  is  lithomarge,  are  dispersed  through  it. 
Upon  looking  at  it  through  a  microscope,  a 
crystal  of  titanium  was  seen  adhering  to  it. 
One  hundred  grains  of  it,  reduced  to  an  impal- 
pable powder,  and  exposed  one  hour  to  the 
intense  heat  of  an  air-furnace,  lost  fifteen  grains 
in  weight,  and  from  a  brown,  was  turned  of 
a  black  colour. 

"One  hundred  grains  of  it,  submitted  to 
heat  in  the  same  manner  with  charcoal,  pro- 
duced a  great  number  of  small  globules  of 
pure  iron.  This  metal  can  be  separated  from 
the  powder  by  a  magnet. 

"One  hundred  grains  of  it,  boiled  in  aqua 
regia,  was  totally  soluble  in  this  agent,  which 
proves  it  contains  no  silex. 

"The  Prussiate  of  potash,  added  to  this 
solution,  yielded  a  blue  precipitate,  which, 
when  dried,  weighed  three  hundred  grains. 
Now  if  we  divide  this  sum  by  six,  we  shall 
have  the  quantity  of  metallic  iron  in  the  hundred 
grains  of  the  ore,  which  is  fifty. 

"A  portion  of  lime  was  thrown  down  from 
a  solution  of  the  mineral,  in  aqua  regia,  by  the 
oxalate  of  potash.  Carbonate  of  ammoniac, 
and  a  solution  of  pot-ash,  produced  a  copious 
white  and  gelatinous  precipitate. 

"One  hundred  grains  of  it  were  mixed  with 
six  hundred  of  pot-ash,  and  submitted  to 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  233 

intense  heat  one  hour,  in  a  black  lead  crucible. 
The  part  remaining  in  the  crucible  was  powdered, 
boiled  in  water,  and  filtered.  Upon  adding  a 
small  portion  of  muriatic  acid  to  the  water, 
a  white  precipitate  was  thrown  down,  which 
was  supposed  to  be  the  titanium.  Upon  col- 
lecting it,  and  mixing  it  with  a  small  portion 
of  spermaceti  oil  and  charcoal,  it  was  exposed 
to  the  heat  of  a  blacksmith's  forge,  when 
nothing  was  obtained  but  a  shiny  heavy  black 
substance,  of  the  appearance  of  glass. 

"When  the  muriatic  acid  was  added  in 
excess  to  the  filtered  water  obtained,  by  boiling 
the  residue,  which  remained  in  the  crucible, 
in  water,  no  precipitate  was  produced,  until 
a  solution  of  pot-ash  was  added  to  neutralize 
the  acid. 

"The  solution  of  the  mineral  in  nitric  acid 
is  astringent  to  the  taste. 

"The  ore  appears  to  be  composed  of  iron, 
titanium,  lime,  alumine,  and  no  silicious  earth. 

"I  wish  you  to  inform  me  in  what  part  of 
New  Jersey  I  can  procure  some  of  the  mineral. 
Have  you  any  to  spare  of  the  specimen  in  your 
possession?  for  I  wish  to  continue  the  experi- 
ments upon  it." 

This  analysis  is  a  real  curiosity.  At  present 
it  would  not  pass  muster.  Those  who  have 
analyzed  titaniferous  ores  will  fail  to  perceive 


234  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

in  it  the  course  they  would  pursue  in  arriving 
at  the  composition  of  this  well-known  sub- 
stance. The  fact  that  iron  appears  to  have 
been  regularly  determined  in  those  days,  first 
by  precipitation  as  ferrocyanide  and  this  then 
decomposed  with  alkali  is  worthy  of  thought. 
As  late  as  1822,  this  method  found  preference 
in  Buff's  Quantitative  Analysis.  It  was  con- 
sidered the  best  procedure  for  the  separation 
of  iron  from  aluminium  and  magnesium.  The 
study  of  the  gradual  development  of  analytical 
methods  should  receive  consideration  from  the 
student  of  chemistry.  There  is  in  it  an  educa- 
tional evolution  deserving  attention. 

Shortly  after  concluding  the  preceding  study, 
Woodhouse  wrote  to  the  editor  of  the  Medical 
Museum  that  a  Mr.  Rutland  of  Philadelphia 
had  put  into  his  hands,  "a  specimen  of  a  black 
coloured  mineral  .  .  .  found  in  the  County 
of  Northampton  .  .  .  about  thirty  miles  from 
Bethlehem,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Lehigh, 
and  informed  me  that  it  might  be  easily  pro- 
cured, in  great  quantities,  at  that  place."  This 
ore  was  in  reality,  as  will  be  seen,  the  mineral 
pyrolusite.  In  massive  form  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  distinguish  it  from  psilomelane,  an 
allied  substance  which  occurs  in  the  same 
locality.  Nearly  one  hundred  years  later  the 
crystallized  mineral,  in  unmistakeable  form, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  235 

was  reported  from  the  adjacent  county  of 
Lehigh. 

But  not  to  overlook  Woodhouse's  observa- 
tion, his  language  may  be  inserted  at  this  place. 

"Having  subjected  this  substance  to  a  variety 
of  experiments,  it  was  discovered  to  be  Man- 
ganese of  the  first  quality,  containing  little 
extraneous  matter;  and  far  superior  to  most 
of  that  which  is  sold  in  the  shops  of  the  druggists, 
considerable  quantities  of  which  I  have  fre- 
quently been  obliged  to  throw  away  after  pur- 
chasing it,  from  the  impurity  of  the  material. 

"The  oxygen  air  obtained  from  this  native 
ore,  was  equal  in  purity  to  that  which  was 
afforded  by  a  specimen  of  the  foreign,  sent  to 
me  by  the  late  Dr.  Priestley,  the  discoverer 
of  this  gas,  who  informed  me,  that  it  yielded 
an  air  as  pure  as  any  he  had  ever  procured 
during  the  course  of  his  life. 

"Manganese  is  useful  to  the  physician,  in 
consequence  of  the  air  it  affords,  and  to  which 
some  of  the  most  violent  diseases  to  which  the 
human  body  is  subject,  have  given  way;  to 
the  bleacher,  paper  maker,  and  manufacturer 
of  glass,  as  a  destroyer  of  colouring  matter, 
when  combined  with  the  marine  acid;  to  the 
potter,  as  giving  a  black  colour,  and  assisting 
in  glazing  his  earthen  ware;  and  to  the  philoso- 
pher and  artist,  as  containing  a  gas,  which, 


236  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

combined  with  certain  combustible  bodies,  will 
generate  a  degree  of  heat  unattainable  by  other 
means. 

"As  the  science  of  mineralogy  is  little  attended 
to  in  the  United  States,  the  intention  of  this 
communication  is,  to  induce  gentlemen  residing 
in  the  country,  to  pay  some  attention  to  the 
mineral  productions  of  their  fields,  by  which 
means  they  may  greatly  profit  themselves, 
and  render  the  most  important  services  to 
the  arts,  yet  in  their  infancy  in  this  part  of  the 
world. 

"Any  person  desirous  of  information,  con- 
cerning any  of  our  native  fossils  (minerals), 
by  applying  to  me,  shall  be  gratified,  as  far 
as  it  is  in  my  power;  and  if  the  mineral  sent 
to  me  is  thought  to  be  of  any  use  to  society, 
an  accurate  analysis  of  it  shall  be  made  free  of 
expense. 

"P.  S. — Since  writing  the  above,  I  have 
examined  another  specimen  of  this  manganese, 
weighing  one  pound. 

"Two  ounces  of  it  reduced  to  powder,  heated 
in  an  iron  tube,  in  one  of  Lewis's  black  lead 
furnaces,  yielded  eighty  cubic  inches  of  oxy- 
genous gas,  which  tested  by  phosphorus  in  the 
eudiometer  of  Fantana,  left  behind  about  three 
per  cent  azotic  gas. 

"One   measure   of   the   oxygen   gas,    passed 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  237 

up  over  lime  water,  gave  a  portion  of  carbonate 
of  lime,  barely  perceptible. 

"One  ounce  measure  of  muriatic  acid,  heated 
upon  one  ounce,  by  weight,  of  it  over  water, 
afforded  forty-five  cubic  inches  of  oxy-muriatic 
gas,  in  which  leaf  copper,  commonly  called 
Dutch  metal,  immediately  inflamed. 

"Its  specific  gravity,  at  the  temperature  of 
62°  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer,  and  before 
it  had  absorbed  water,  was  3.4193.  After 
(and  the  absorption  accelerated  by  thirty 
minutes  boiling  in  water),  it  rose  to  3.7667. 

"Like  all  the  other  ores  of  manganese,  it 
is  combined  with  iron,  siliceous  earth,  etc. 
A  deep  blue  precipitate  takes  place,  upon 
adding  the  prussiate  of  pot-ash  to  a  solution 
of  it  in  the  muriatic  acid." 


In  1807  Woodhouse  sent  a  most  interesting 
account  of  the  zinc  mine  at  Perkiomen  to  the 
Medical  Museum.  He  gave  an  exhaustive 
analysis  of  the  ore  which  was  sphalerite.  The 
mines  in  that  vicinity  were  subsequently 
operated  but  it  will  be  recalled  that  the  large 
quantity  of  this  mineral  proved  a  serious  detri- 
ment, because  no  market  could  be  found  for 
the  same  in  this  country.  .  .  .  How  different 
the  situation  within  the  recollection  of  the 


238  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

generation  still  living!     These  facts,  in  mind, 
the    subjoined    communication    takes  on      an 
added  interest: 
"Sm, 

"The  zinc  mine,  an  account  of  which  you 
have  requested  for  the  Medical  Museum,  is 
situated  on  the  side  of  a  high  hill,  on  the  bank 
of  Perkiomen  creek,  about  twenty  miles  from 
Philadelphia.  The  miners  have  made  excava- 
tion to  a  considerable  distance,  on  the  side  of 
the  hill,  in  which  a  man  can  walk  in  a  stooping 
posture.  They  have  also  nearly  completed  a 
shaft  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  The  surface  of 
the  earth  is  covered  with  large  masses  of  com- 
pact and  laminated  sulphate  of  barytes,  iron 
pyrites,  rock  chrystal,  quartz,  etc.,  which  have 
been  dug  up  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
in  sinking  the  shaft,  and  making  the  excavation. 

"Three  varieties  of  ore  are  found  in  the 
mine;  the  lead  coloured,  the  yellow,  and  the 
deep  black. 

"The  specific  gravity  of  the  lead  coloured 
(which  is  the  most  abundant),  at  60°  Fahrenheit, 
is  5.3121. 

"Two  thousand  grains  of  this  ore,  reduced 
to  an  impalpable  powder,  and  exposed  two 
hours  to  the  intense  heat  of  an  air-furnace, 
lost  900  grains  in  weight,  which  consisted  of 
water  and  sulphur. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  239 

"One  thousand  grains  of  the  powdered  ore 
were  boiled  an  hour  in  an  oil  flask,  with  two 
ounce  measures  of  sulphuric  acid.  Water 
was  added  to  this  mixture,  which  being  filtered 
and  evaporated,  produced  a  compact  mass  of 
sulphate  of  zinc  or  white  vitriol,  weighing  1,730 
grains.  A  residuum  was  left  in  the  flask, 
which  weighed  508  grains;  upon  exposing 
it  to  heat,  262  grains  of  sulphur  sublimed  from 
it,  and  the  residuum  in  the  subliming  vessel 
weighed  246  grains,  which,  boiled  in  an  ounce 
measure  of  sulphuric  acid,  yielded  200  grains 
of  white  vitriol. 

"The  residuum  from  the  246  grains  was 
mixed  with  potash  and  exposed  to  heat,  when 
it  formed  a  brown  mass,  which  being  powdered 
and  dissolved  in  water,  formed  the  liquor  of 
flints  from  which  the  silex  was  precipitated 
by  the  muriatic  acid. 

"One  hundred  grains  of  the  ore  were  dis- 
solved in  an  ounce  and  a  half  measure  of  nitric 
acid,  diluted  with  an  equal  quantity  of  pure 
water.  Ten  grains  of  a  residuum  remained, 
which,  when  viewed  through  a  microscope, 
appeared  to  consist  of  fragments  of  grey  quartz, 
mixed  with  globules  of  sulphur.  The  zinc 
was  precipitated  from  this  nitric  solution  by 
mild  potash,  and,  when  dry,  it  weighed  140 
grains. 


240  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"It  is  said  by  chemists,  that  the  weight  of 
the  oxide  of  zinc,  precipitated  by  mild  alkali 
from  its  solution,  will  amount  to  193  grains, 
for  every  hundred  of  the  metal  it  represents. 

"According  to  this  calculation,  one  hundred 
grains  of  the  Perkiomen  ore,  must  contain  72 
of  the  metallic  zinc. 

"The  white  vitriol  obtained  from  1,000  grains 
of  the  ore,  was  dissolved  in  pure  water. 

"Plates  of  metallic  zinc  were  left  in  this 
water,  for  several  days,  when  26  grains  of 
metallic  iron  were  precipitated. 

"Metallic  zinc  was  procured  from  the  ore 
mixed  with  charcoal,  by  exposing  the  two  sub- 
stances to  the  heat  of  an  air-furnace,  in  a 
coated  earthen  retort,  to  the  neck  of  which  a 
tin  tube  was  luted,  which  communicated  with 
water,  in  order  to  keep  off  the  action  of  the 
oxygenous  portion  of  the  atmosphere. 

"Brass  was  manufactured  by  mixing  the 
powdered  ore  with  charcoal,  and  laying  pieces 
of  copper  on  the  surface  of  the  coal,  and  expos- 
ing the  whole  to  the  heat  of  an  air-furnace,  in 
a  covered  crucible,  for  several  hours. 

"Similar  experiments  were  performed  on  the 
black  ore,  with  nearly  the  same  results. 

"According  to  these  experiments,  100  grains 
of  the  Perkiomen  ore  consists  of  about  72 
parts  zinc,  22  sulphur,  3  iron,  and  3  silex. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  241 

Some  specimens  of  it  contain  a  portion  of 
lead. 

"These  proportions  are  not  given  as  just,  for 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  analyse  a  zinc  ore 
with  perfect  accuracy.  We  can  only  approxi- 
mate to  the  truth. 

"It  is  not  exactly  fair  to  deduce  the  quantity 
of  metal  a  zinc  ore  may  contain,  from  the 
weight  of  it  precipitated  by  a  mild  alkali,  as 
recommended  by  Nicholson;  for  this  weight 
will  vary  with  the  quantity  of  water  which  may 
adhere  to  it. 

"If  we  attempt  to  analyse  the  ore  by  manu- 
facturing it  into  brass,  as  recommended  by 
Accum,  who  considers  this  process  as  tolerably 
accurate,  we  lose  a  large  quantity  of  the  metal, 
which  escapes  in  the  form  of  flowers  of  zinc." 

For  curiosity's  sake  contrast  the  analysis  of 
Woodhouse  just  given  with  that  of  a  sample  of 
the  ore  from  the  same  locality  made  by  J. 
Lawrence  Smith,  ninety  years  later: 

WOODHOVBB  SMITH 

Quartz  (silex) 3.00 

Sulphur 22.00  33.82 

Zinc 72.00  64.39 

Cadmium 0.98 

Copper 0.32 

Lead (sometimes)    0.78 

Iron..  3.00 


24S  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

And  Woodhouse  continues:  "Can  this  ore 
be  worked  to  advantage  in  the  United  States? 

"No  information  on  this  subject  can  be 
obtained  from  any  book  with  which  I  am  ac- 
quainted. Dr.  Meade,  a  *  gentleman  possessed 
of  extensive  knowledge  on  mineralogy,  informed 
me  that  it  is  never  worked  in  England.  Dr. 
Bruce,  professor  of  this  science,  in  the  college 
of  physicians,  New  York,  told  me  it  is  reduced 
in  Wales;  and  Mr.  Godon,  of  Boston,  who  is 
extremely  well  acquainted  with  subjects  relat- 
ing to  this  business,  has  declared  that  zinc 
cannot  be  obtained  from  this  kind  of  ore  in  the 
large  way,  but  with  the  utmost  difficulty." 

The  analytical  portion  of  this  paper  is  in 
accord  with  that  of  the  day.  It  will  cause  the 
young  analyst  to  smile.  The  method  of  arriv- 
ing at  the  sulphur  content  of  the  ore  will  stagger 
him.  It  is  quite  certain  that  the  introduction  of 
"plates  of  metallic  zinc  ...  in  this  water,  for 
several  days  .  .  .  precipitated  '26  grains  of 
metallic  iron'  '  will  develop  criticism.  Could 
Woodhouse  have  examined  that  deposit?  Is  it 
not  probable  that  lead  was  in  the  metal  thus 
obtained?  It  is  quite  well  known  that  cadmium 
salt  solutions  have  been  deprived  of  lead  in  the 
manner  described. 

An  unhappy  conclusion,  attending  Wood- 
house's  communication  on  the  zinc  ore,  was 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  243 

that  it  called  forth  a  cruel  criticism  from  Dr.  A. 
Seybert,  who  must  have  harbored  unkind  feel- 
ing toward  Woodhouse,  who  years  before  had 
been  his  competitor  for  the  professorship  of 
chemistry  (p.  00).  Seybert's  life  conduct  was,  as 
a  rule,  so  exalted  that  this  outburst  in  the 
Medical  Museum  was  most  unworthy  of  him. 
Hence  it  will  be  passed  over.  Its  nature  will  be 
sufficiently  indicated  by  reading  between  the 
lines  of  Woodhouse's  reply: 

"In  a  work  dedicated  to  the  interests  of 
science,  it  ought  certainly  to  be  expected  that 
those  whose  leisure  or  opportunities  permit 
them,  occasionally,  to  throw  in  their  contribu- 
tions to  the  general  stock  of  knowledge,  would 
discard  everything  like  asperity  in  their  remarks 
on  the  opinions  advanced  by  others;  and  that 
the  little  passions  of  envy  and  jealousy  would 
never  actuate  the  minds  of  those,  whose  real 
object  is  the  pursuit  of  truth. 

"It  was,  therefore,  with  surprise,  mingled 
with  regret,  that  I  perused  the  paper  inserted 
in  your  last  number  by  Dr.  Seybert,  on  the 
subject  of  the  Perkiomen  mine. 

"As  it  is  of  little  consequence  to  the  public 
whether  or  not  Dr.  S.  knew  that  blende  or  the 
sulphuret  of  zinc  was  found  near  Perkiomen  in 
1806;  and  it  is  equally  immaterial,  whether  or 
not,  in  1807,  when  shown  a  specimen  of  this 


244  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

same  ore,  he  declared  it  to  be  lead  ore;  I  shall 
proceed  to  show  that  his  essay,  improperly 
entitled  "Facts  (when  it  entirely  consists  of 
quotations)  to  prove  that  this  metallic  ore  can 
be  worked  to  advantage  in  the  United  States," 
proves  nothing,  except  the  doctor's  misplaced 
rancour  against  myself,  and  which  my  former 
essay  has  furnished  him  a  pretext  for  exhibiting. 

"  Without  entering  into  a  comparison  of  the 
doctor's  patriotism  with  my  own;  without  pre- 
tending that  my  attachment  to  my  natale 
solum  is  as  strong  as  his;  or  that  I  should  be 
disposed  to  make  as  great  sacrifices,  either 
personal  or  pecuniary,  for  my  native  country 
as  Dr.  Seybert  would,  I  shall  show, 

"1st.  That  there  is  an  evident  want  of 
candour  in  the  conclusions  he  has  drawn  from 
my  publication. 

"2nd.  That  some  of  his  quotations  from 
chemical  writers  are  unfairly  given. 

"3rd.  That  what  he  has  advanced  bears  no 
direct  relation  to  the  subject  in  question. 

"4th.  That  the  observations  in  his  conclud- 
ing paragraphs  are  highly  personal  and  improper; 
and 

Lastly,  I  shall  annex  correct  extracts  from  the 
best  modern  writers  to  show  that  the  blendes, 
though  they  abound,  are  seldom  worked  in 
Europe. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  245 

"In  the  first  place  there  is  a  want  of  candour 
because  the  doctor  asserts  that  I  have  main- 
tained that  this  American  ore  will  yield  72  per 
cent  of  metal;  whereas  I  expressly  mentioned 
that  this  quantity  was  not  given  as  accurate, 
from  the  difficulty  of  analyzing  the  ores  of  zinc, 
and  the  reasons  are  assigned. 

"An  erroneous  conclusion  is  drawn  from  what 
I  have  published  on  this  subject.  In  order  to 
place  this  in  a  clear  point  of  view,  I  will  insert 
the  two  paragraphs  which  have  so  much  excited 
the  irascibility  of  the  doctor,  and  let  the  reader 
compare  them  with  his  remarks. 

"Can  this  ore  be  worked  to  advantage  in  the 
United  States? 

"No  information  on  this  subject  can  be 
obtained  from  any  book  with  which  I  am 
acquainted.  Mr.  Meade,  a  gentleman  possessed 
of  extensive  knowledge  on  mineralogy,  informed 
me  that  it  is  never  worked  in  England.  Dr. 
Bruce,  professor  of  that  science  in  the  College 
of  Physicians,  New  York,  told  me  that  it  is 
reduced  in  Wales;  and  Mr.  Godon,  of  Boston, 
who  is  extremely  well  acquainted  with  subjects 
relating  to  this  business,  has  declared  that  zinc 
cannot  be  obtained  from  this  kind  of  ore,  but 
with  the  utmost  difficulty." 

"For  thus  merely  stating  the  information 
derived  from  three  men  of  eminence,  without 


246  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

advancing  any  opinion  of  my  own,  Dr.  Seybert 
has  taken  the  liberty  of  asserting  that  I  assume 
the  principle  that  blende  is  not  and  cannot  be 
worked  anywhere  to  advantage. 

"Secondly,  The  quotations  from  some  writers 
are  not  fairly  stated.  This  will  appear  from  the 
following  extract  from  Dr.  Seybert's  essay, 
when  compared  with  what  has  been  said  by 
Bishop  Watson,  and  the  celebrated  Chaptal,  on 
the  same  subject. 

;  'At  Rammelsberg,  near  Goslar,  there  is  a 
considerable  manufacture  of  brass.  I  visited  it 
in  1794.  Here  they  form  this  important  alloy 
(cadmia)  a  sublimed  oxide  of  zinc  which  is 
obtained  by  proper  management  during  the 
roasting  of  the  lead  ores  and  blendes,  in  a 
reverberatory  furnace.' 

"Here  an  incorrect  idea  is  held  forth,  that  a 
mine  of  blende  is  worked  near  Goslar  in  Germany, 
but  the  fact  is,  that  the  mine  at  that  place  is 
wrought  for  the  lead  and  silver  it  affords;  and 
as  no  additional  expense  is  incurred  from  the 
purchase  of  fuel,  the  oxide  of  zinc  is  obtained 
at  the  same  time;  and  the  mine  is  a  lead,  and 
not  a  zinc  mine. 

"Now  let  us  examine  what  Chaptal  and 
Bishop  Watson  actually  do  say  on  the  subject, 
when  divested  of  the  doctor's  alloy. 

"Chaptal,    vol.    2,   p.    46,  4th   Amer.    edit.: 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  247 

'Zinc  is  sometimes  mixed  with  lead,  and  in  the 
working  of  this  last  metal,  the  former  is  occa- 
sionally obtained.  Such  is  the  ore  worked  at 
Rammelsberg,  near  Goslar.  Great  part  of  the 
zinc  is  dissipated,  but  a  portion  of  this  metal  is 
obtained  by  a  very  ingenious  process.' 

''Watson's  Chemical  Essays,  vol.  4,  p.  40: 
'At  Goslar,  in  Germany,  they  smelt  an  ore 
which  contains  lead,  silver,  copper,  iron,  and 
zinc,  in  the  same  mass.  The  ore  is  smelted  to 
procure  the  silver  and  lead;  but,  by  a  particular 
contrivance,  they  obtain  a  portion  of  zinc  in 
substance.' 

"The  slightest  observation  will  show  that 
Dr.  S.  has  taken  as  much  from  Bishop  Watson's 
work,  as  would  suit  his  purpose,  without  any 
regard  to  conveying  the  true  meaning  of  the 
author. 

"It  is  true,  the  Bishop  says,  vol.  4,  p.  20: 
'The  sulphuret  of  zinc  has  for  many  years  been 
used,  as  well  as  calamine,  for  the  making  of 
brass  at  Bristol;'  but,  in  p.  40  of  the  same 
essay,  he  informs  us,  that  'as  to  this  ore  of 
zinc,  it  is  not  so  commonly  used  as  calamine 
for  the  making  of  brass  at  Bristol.  Several 
ship-loads  of  it  were  sent,  a  few  years  ago,  from 
Cornwall  to  this  town.  Upon  the  whole,  how- 
ever, experience  has  not  brought  it  into  reputa- 
tion at  this  place.' 


248  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"But  Dr.  S.  infers,  that  because  a  lead  mine 
in  Germany,  which  is  worked  for  the  silver  and 
lead  it  contans,  affords  a  portion  of  zinc,  that 
therefore  a  zinc  mine,  containing  little  lead  and 
no  silver,  can  be  worked  to  advantage  in  the 
United  States. 

"Thirdly,  What  the  doctor  has  advanced  in 
near  eight  octavo  pages,  bears  no  direct  relation 
to  the  subject  in  question.  It  is  not  by  quota- 
tions from  foreign  writers  that  we  can  deter- 
mine whether  metallic  zinc,  or  any  substance 
into  which  it  enters  as  a  component  part,  can 
be  worked  with  advantage  in  the  United  States; 
but  by  taking  into  consideration  the  extent  of 
the  ore;  the  quantity  of  metal  it  will  afford 
when  worked  on  a  large  scale  (which  can  only 
be  ascertained  by  an  experiment  with  several 
hundred  weight  of  the  ore) ;  the  price  of  labour 
in  this  country;  the  cost  of  fuel  to  throw  off 
the  sulphur,  and  afterwards  to  extract  the 
metal;  the  demand  for  the  zinc,  and  the  price 
for  which  it  can  be  manufactured  abroad  and 
imported  into  this  country.  Not  one  of  these 
circumstances  has  been  considered  by  Dr.  Sey- 
bert;  and  yet,  with  a  kind  of  self-complacency, 
as  if  the  consideration  of  these  points  was 
beneath  his  dignity,  he  says,  'I  DO  MAINTAIN 
that  the  Perkiomen  blende  can  be  worked  in 
America  with  advantage.'  There  is  a  trifling 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  249 

difference,  however,  between  assertion  and  proof. 

"The  question  is  not  whether  the  blendes 
are,  or  are  not  worked  in  Europe,  but,  whether 
we  can  manufacture  metallic  zinc,  or  com- 
pounds into  which  it  enters,  cheaper  than  they 
can  be  imported  from  England,  France,  Ger- 
many, and  the  East  Indies. 

"Calamine,  an  ore  of  zinc,  which  can  be 
easily  and  profitably  wrought,  abounds  in  Great 
Britain .  *  As  we  have  greater  plenty  of  calamine 
in  England,'  says  Bishop  Watson,  'and  that  of 
a  better  sort,  than  most  other  nations  have, 
there  is  no  fear  of  our  losing  the  advantage  in 
this  article  of  trade,  which  we  are  now  possessed 
of.'  Essays,  vol.  4,  p.  7. 

"The  blendes  of  Perkiomen  also  differ,  mate- 
rially,  from  those  of  other  countries;  and  they 
all  differ  from  each  other. 

"  'The  nature  of  the  sulphurets  of  zinc',  says 
Fourcroy,  vol.  5,  p.  519,  'is  not  well  known,  and 
Bergmann  found  such  great  difference  between 
them,  from  different  countries,  that  the  ores 
seemed  to  possess  no  identical  properties  or 
composition.' 

"  Fourthlv,  The  observations  in  the  conclud- 
ing paragraphs  are  highly  personal  and  improper. 
Although  I  had  advanced  no  opinion,  the  doctor 
has  undertaken  to  denounce  me  as  one  'exciting 
unfounded  doubts,  propagating  erroneous  opin- 


250  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

ions,  and  attempting  to  paralize  the  wise  efforts  of 
a  judicious  public,'  (although  no  efforts  have 
ever  been  made  by  the  public,  to  work  the 
Perkiomen  mine),  'and  at  a  time  when  the 
political  situation  of  our  country  is  such,  that 
its  foreign  relations  are  interrupted,  and  much 
is  expected  from  an  energetic  application  of  its 
internal  resources.' 

"In  France,  during  the  gloomy  periods  of  the 
revolution  such  a  denunciation  would  have  been 
sufficient  to  bring  the  object  of  it  to  the  guil- 
lotine, and,  were  it  true,  it  ought,  even  here 
justly  to  excite  the  hatred  of  my  fellow -citizens 
against  me.  But  I  repel  the  insinuation  with 
the  contempt  it  deserves.  In  every  analysis  I 
have  made,  public  utility  has  been  my  sole 
object,  and  to  that  object  my  attention  has 
always  cheerfully  been  devoted,  without  any 
regard  to  labour  or  expense. 

"Correct  extracts  from  the  most  celebrated 
modern  writers  are  annexed,  which  prove  that 
the  blendes  or  sulphurets  of  zinc  are  seldom 
worked  in  Europe. 

"The  abbe  Hauy,  whom  Fourcroy,  the  great 
and  enlightened  historian  of  chemical  science, 
very  justly  styles  'the  last,  most  learned  and 
accurate  author  on  mineralogy',  after  mention- 
ing that  the  sulphurets  of  zinc  abound  in  the 
mines  of  Saxony,  Bohemia,  Hungary;  that  they 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  251 

are  found  in  Sweden,  Norway,  England,  France, 
etc.,  and  that,  in  general,  zinc  is  one  of  the  most 
common  of  the  metals,  informs  us,  that  'this 
metallic  substance  is  scarcely  an  object  to  seek 
after,  and  that  it  is  casually  extracted  in  the 
melting  of  minerals  with  which  it  is  associated, 
and  particularly  the  sulphurets  of  lead.' 

'The  sulphurets  of  zinc  are  scarcely  worked 
by  themselves,  or  with  the  sole  intention  of 
extracting  the  metal.  It  is  most  frequently  by 
fusion  with  the  ores  of  lead,  mixed  with  the  sul- 
phuret  of  zinc,  that  the  latter  metal  is  obtained.' 
Fourcroy,  vol.  5,  p.  522. 

'Blende  is  sometimes,  although  extremely 
rarely,  worked  as  an  ore  of  zinc.'  Jamieson's 
Mineralogy,  vol.  2,  article  Zinc. 

'Zinc  is  obtained  adventitiously,  in  the  melt- 
ing of  such  copper  and  lead  ores  as  contain 
zinc  or  blende.'  Weigleb,  p.  419. 

'/  do  not  know  any  country  where  blende  is 
wrought  to  obtain  zinc.9  Chaptal,  Amer.  edit., 
vol.  2,  p.  46. 

'As  the  consumption  of  zinc  is  very  limited, 
it  has  not  been  worked.'  Chemistry  applied  to 
the  Arts  and  Manufactures,  by  Chaptal,  vol.  2, 
p.  209. 

'  Calamine  is  the  ore  of  zinc  that  is  always 
worked.  The  extraction  of  zinc  from  blende  is  at- 
tempted, but  not  often.'  Murray,  vol.  3,  p.  34. 


252  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

6  No  mines  are  worked  in  order  to  extract 
zinc.  In  fusing  lead  ore,  mixed  with  blende, 
the  metal  is  obtained  in  the  state  of  an  oxide.' 
Lagrange,  vol.  2,  p.  34. 

"I  might  swell  this  list  of  quotations  with 
extracts  from  other  eminent  chemical  authors; 
but  I  shall  forebear,  as  I  should,  no  doubt, 
meet  with  this  conclusive  answer  from  Dr. 
Seybert,  that  'those  authors  do  not  know  all  that 
is  done  in  this  way ! ' 

"The  reason  that  the  blendes  are  not  worked, 
is  the  great  difficulty  of  throwing  off  the  sulphur 
they  contain.  The  following  experiments  have 
lately  been  made: 

"One  pound  of  the  Perkiomen  ore,  reduced  to 
a  fine  powder,  was  exposed  eight  hours  in  a 
blast  furnace  to  the  heat  of  the  Lehigh  coal, 
which  is  much  greater  than  can  be  excited  by  any 
other  kind  of  fuel,  and  it  lost  only  three  ounces 
in  weight.  Aqua  regia  was  then  added  to  an 
ounce  of  it,  and  a  quantity  of  sulphur  imme- 
diately separated  and  swam  on  the  surface  of 
the  fluid.  When  washed  and  dried  it  weighed 
150  grains. 

"Eight  ounces  of  this  roasted  ore,  mixed 
with  the  powder  of  charcoal,  were  submitted  in 
a  proper  manner  to  the  same  heat  for  ten  hours, 
and  an  inconsiderable  quantity  of  metallic 
zinc  was  procured. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  253 

"An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  also  made  to 
manufacture  the  sulphate  of  zinc,  or  white 
vitriol,  in  the  same  manner  as  they  do  in  some 
parts  of  Europe,  by  submitting  a  lump  of  ore, 
weighing  two  pounds,  to  an  intense  red-heat, 
repeatedly  extinguishing  it  in  water,  and  evap- 
orating this  fluid  to  dryness. 

"As  Dr.  S.  has  made  no  experiments  on  the 
Perkiomen  ore,  it  is  absurd  for  him  to  pretend 
to  give  information  to  others  on  this  subject, 
when  he  possesses  none  himself. 

"For  my  part,  I  would  sincerely  rejoice  to 
see  this  or  any  other  metallic  substance  wrought 
to  advantage  in  this  country;  coinciding  freely  in 
the  opinion  of  the  illustrious  Chaptal,  'That 
although  AGRICULTURE  is  the  basis  of  the 
public  welfare,  the  ARTS  and  COMMERCE 
form  the  glory,  the  ornament,  and  the  riches  of 
every  polished  nation.' 

"I  shall  now  conclude  my  reply  to  Dr.  Sey- 
bert  by  introducing  a  letter  on  this  subject, 
which  has  been  addressed  to  me  by  a  mineralo- 
gist, who,  in  that  science,  is  second  to  none, 
either  in  this  or  any  other  country. 
"  'SiR, 

:c  'The  question  at  present  between  you  and 
Dr.  Seybert  is,  whether  it  be  possible  to  use, 
with  advantage,  the  blende  of  Perkiomen  in  the 
manufacture  of  zinc  and  brass.  It  appears  to 


254  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

me  that  the  solution  of  this  question  is  beyond 
the  limits  of  chemistry,  and  mineralogy,  and 
become  a  question  merely  of  speculation.  On 
this  point,  I  think  the  quotations  from  European 
authors  perfectly  useless,  for  none  of  them 
declare  positively  that  any  benefit  has  resulted 
to  those  who  have  tried  this  experiment.  Be- 
sides, their  authority  must  pass  for  nothing  as 
regards  America,  where  circumstances  are  so 
different  from  those  of  Europe.  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  giving  my  opinion  against  a  manu- 
facture intended  for  the  transformation  of 
blende  into  artificial  calamine,  in  a  country 
where  I  am  as  yet  unacquainted  with  any  mine 
of  copper  being  in  actual  exploration;  but  my 
idea  on  this  subject  may  be  susceptible  of  some 
modification,  as  I  am  not  sufficiently  advanced 
in  a  knowledge  of  the  country,  to  have  ascer- 
tained the  price  of  various  articles  necessary  to 
the  manufacture,  and  to  render  it  really  ser- 
viceable.' 

"Dr.-  S.  anticipates  the  near  approach  of  a 
time,  when  we  shall  see  the  articles  of  zinc  and 
copper,  as  forming  interesting  items  in  the  list 
of  articles  exported  from  the  United  States. 
If  this  should  prove  correct  as  to  brass,  it  cer- 
tainly never  can  be  so  as  to  zinc.  I  have  always 
seen  that  metal  at  so  low  a  price,  and  in  so  little 
demand  in  Europe,  that  it  is  very  doubtful 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  255 

whether  that  part  of  the  world  (the  only  place 
to  export  to)  will  ever  present  an  advantageous 
market  for  zinc  manufacturers  in  America. 
But  if,  in  fact,  Dr.  Seybert  has  a  good  opinion 
of  the  utility  of  exploring  this  mine,  a  natural 
proof  presents  itself  corroborating  his  own 
opinion,  and  proving  that  what  he  advances  to 
the  public  is  the  fruit  of  reflection.  It  is  said  he 
is  wealthy;  let  him  furnish  the  funds,  and  his 
information  towards  an  object  of  which  he  has 
so  high  an  idea,  and  which  ought  now  to  afford 
a  greater  prospect  of  success,  as  a  mine  of 
copper,  of  which  he  had  no  knowledge  at  the  time 
of  publishing  his  essay,  has  just  been  discovered 
near  that  containing  this  blende.  For  my  part, 
I  sincerely  hope  that  this  business  may  succeed; 
but  so  far  I  see  no  reason  to  change  my  opinion." 

Would  that  these  scientists  could  have  lived  to 
see  the  working  of  zinc  ores  in  Missouri,  Penn- 
sylvania, New  Jersey,  and  elsewhere.  Changes 
do  come  with  time  and  further  knowledge! 

A  striking  feature  of  Woodhouse's  character, 
manifest  in  all  his  work,  was  an  overweaning 
ambition  to  serve  his  country. 


Curiously,  the  examination  of  the  literary 
remains  of  even  the  most  eminent  chemists  of 
the  earlier  days,  reveals  that  at  some  time  they 


256  JAMES  WOODHOTJSE 

suggested  the  making  of  inks  of  various  sorts. 
Woodhouse  was  no  exception.  He  did  not 
believe  that  it  in  any  wise  compromised  his 
dignity  as  investigator  or  professor.  Thus  it 
happened  that  in  response  to  a  desire  of  John 
Redman  Coxe  of  the  Medical  Museum,  who 
became  in  time  his  successor,  he  wrote,  "a 
receipt  for  making  an  indelible  ink,  superior 
to  that  imported  from  London."  Perhaps  it 
may  have  a  present  value,  for  which  reason  it 
is  here  incorporated. 

"Dissolve  four  drachms  of  the  nitrate  of 
silver  or  lunar  caustic  of  the  shops,  hi  four 
ounce  measures  of  rain  or  river  water,  and  when 
the  solution  is  clear,  add  to  it  sixty  drops  of 
an  infusion  of  galls,  made  by  pouring  a  gill  of 
boiling  water,  on  two  drachms  of  powdered 
galls. 

"Dissolve  one  ounce  of  pearl-ash  in  four 
ounce  measures  of  water,  and  let  it  stand  until 
the  solution  becomes  clear. 

"Dip  a  flat  stick  in  the  solution  of  pearl-ash, 
and  impregnate  the  article  in  the  part  to  be 
marked  with  it,  and  let  it  be  well  dried.  Then 
write  over  it,  with  a  clean  pen,  having  a  stiff 
nib,  dipped  in  the  solution  of  lunar  caustic, 
holding  the  gallate  of  silver  suspended,  and  the 
letters  will  be  formed  of  a  black  colour. 

"When  an  infusion  of  galls  is  added  to  a  solu- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  257 

tion  of  the  nitrate  of  silver,  the  gallic  acid 
unites  to  a  portion  of  the  oxide  of  silver  of  the 
nitric  solution,  and  forms  gallate  of  silver, 
which  remains  for  a  short  time  suspended  in  the 
solution,  and  makes  the  ink,  which  consists  of 
gallate  and  nitrate  of  silver,  flow  from  the  pen 
in  an  equable  manner. 

"  When  the  ink  comes  in  contact  with  muslin, 
linen  or  cotton,  impregnated  with  the  solution 
of  pearl-ash,  a  double  elective  attraction  takes 
place.  The  gallic  and  nitric  acids,  unite  with 
the  pearl-ash  and  form  gallate  and  nitrate  of 
pearl-ash;  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  pearl-ash 
joins  the  oxide  of  silver,  and  makes  carbonate  of 
silver,  which  is  deposited  upon  the  part  written. 

"When  articles  marked  with  this  indelible 
ink,  are  washed,  the  gallate  and  nitrate  of  pot- 
ash, being  soluble  in  water,  are  carried  away, 
and  the  carbonate  of  silver  remains  behind. 

"When  the  gallate  of  silver  has  fallen  to  the 
bottom  of  the  nitric-solution,  the  vessel  contain- 
ing it,  must  be  frequently  shaken,  to  keep  it 
suspended. 

"The  quantity  of  ink,  mentioned  in  this 
receipt,  will  fill  forty  bottles,  of  the  size  imported 
into  this  country. 

"The  pot-ash  contained  in  the  vials  brought 
from  London  is  coloured  with  cochineal  or  red 
saunders." 


258  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

The  various  chemical  reactions  outlined  in 
this  receipt  could  sustain  a  revision  without  loss. 
Present  day  explanation  would  differ  con- 
siderably. 


Before  the  active  period  of  Wohler  and 
Liebig  there  were  chemists  who  were  unable  to 
resist  the  fascinating  power  of  the  destructive 
fulminates.  The  work  of  Howard  and  Brug- 
natelli  in  this  field  is  so  well  known  that  a 
review  of  the  same  in  this  place  would  be 
superfluous,  and  nothing  would  be  said  of  them 
were  it  not  that  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Mitchill, 
Woodhouse  recited  his  personal  experiences  in 
this  direction.  After  alluding  to  the  short- 
comings of  the  existing  methods  and  his  failure 
to  realize  any  success  with  them,  he  says: 

"My  mode  is  as  follows: 

"Take  two  ounce  measures  of  a  saturated 
solution  of  the  nitrate  of  mecury  in  water,  and 
pour  it  into  a  quart  tumbler.  Add  to  it  four 
ounce  measures  of  alkohol,  and  then  two  ounce 
measures  of  the  best  and  strongest  nitric  acid. 

"  Immediately  an  effervescence  will  take  place, 
and  an  immense  quantity  of  nitrous  etherized 
gas,  and  nitrous  air,  will  be  discharged  in  thick 
clouds,  and  in  about  fifteen  minutes  the  ful- 
minating mercury  will  be  deposited  at  the 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  259 

bottom  of  the  vessel,  in  beautiful  slender 
crystals  of  a  white  and  brilliant  colour.  They 
must  be  washed  by  filling  the  tumbler  twice 
with  pure  water,  and  then  dried  by  a  gentle  heat, 
or  by  exposing  them  two  days  to  the  air.  The 
proportion  of  ingredients  here  mentioned  will 
yield  two  hundred  and  twenty -seven  grains  of 
this  exploding  preparation.  The  process  never 
fails,  is  cheaper,  more  easily  and  speedily  per- 
formed, and  yields  a  larger  product  than  any 
other  yet  known." 

Some  years  later  he  was  moved  to  write  at 
some  length  on  this  subject,  as  he  believed  the 
salt  might  be  applied  to  purposes  of  war,  par- 
ticularly in  perforating  the  timbers  of  vessels. 
Among  other  observations  he  said: 

"A  brick-bat,  weighing  five  pounds,  was 
placed  upon  fifteen  grains  of  this  fulminating 
mercury,  lying  upon  an  inch  plank.  A  train  of 
gun-powder  was  made  to  communicate  with  the 
fulminating  compound.  Upon  firing  it,  a  piece  of 
the  plank,  several  inches  in  length,  was  torn  off. 

"Thirty  grains  fired  in  the  same  manner, 
split  the  brick  in  two,  perforated  the  plank, 
and  tore  away  a  piece  of  it,  five  inches  in  length, 
and  two  in  breadth. 

"Sixty  grains,  placed  on  a  three  inch  plank, 
with  two  brick-bats  over  them,  broke  the  bricks 
into  a  variety  of  pieces,  scattered  them  in  every 


260  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

direction,  and  made  an  excavation  in  the  plank, 
half  an  inch  deep,  and  five  in  circumference. 

"Ninety  grains,  under  five  bricks,  broke  the 
whole  into  an  immense  number  of  pieces,  per- 
forated the  three  inch  plank  one  inch  deep,  and 
nine  in  circumference. 

"Two  hundred  grains  were  laid  upon  an  oak 
plank  five  feet  in  length,  and  one  foot  in 
breadth.  Another  plank  of  the  same  size  was 
laid  over  the  fulminating  mercury,  and  confined 
by  thirty  pounds  weight  of  bricks.  Upon 
firing  the  compound,  all  the  bricks  were  broken 
into  pieces;  a  foot  in  length  and  breadth  of  the 
table  on  which  the  planks  rested  was  carried 
away;  the  upper  plank  was  thrown  into  the 
air;  both  were  split  and  small  excavations  made 
in  them. 

"An  idea  of  the  immense  force  of  this  sub- 
stance may  be  conceived,  when  it  is  related,  that 
ten  grains  of  it  will  burst  the  strongest  pistol- 
barrel  that  can  be  made. 

"As  it  possesses  a  thousand  times  the  power 
of  gun-powder,  is  no  ways  dangerous,  and  can 
be  fired  by  the  flint  and  steel,  it  would  appear 
to  be  preferable  to  this  article  to  charge  the 
torpedoes  of  Mr.  Fulton." 


Carbon  monoxide,  carbonic  oxide  gas  in  the 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  261 

oldest  literature,  was  in  Woodhouse's  day  con- 
founded with  carburetted  hydrogen.  Priestley 
had  called  attention  of  chemists  to  it  when 
writing  on  phlogiston.  He  comprehended  its 
constitution  quite  correctly,  as  did  also  Wood- 
house.  Berthollet  was  of  those  who  entertained 
an  opinion  different  from  that  held  by  Priestley. 
Woodhouse's  experiment  on  the  oxide  had  been 
transmitted  to  France,  and  had  engaged  the 
attention  of  the  National  Institute.  Cruick- 
shanks  of  Woolwich  in  the  meantime  rede- 
termined  its  composition,  and  thus  con- 
firmed the  views  of  Woodhouse  and  Priestley. 
It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to  hear 
T.  E.  Thorpe: 

"If,  too,  as  you  draw  up  to  the  fire  'betwixt 
the  gloaming  and  the  mirk'  of  these  dull,  cold, 
November  days,  and  note  the  little  blue  flame 
playing  around  the  red  hot  coals,  think  kindly 
of  Priestley,  for  he  first  told  us  of  the  nature  of 
that  flame  when  in  the  exile  to  which  our  fore- 
fathers drove  him." 


Devoted  to  botanical  studies,  plant  chemistry 
was  a  delight  to  Woodhouse.  Witness  his 
thesis  (p.  18)  and  the  r61e  played  by  plants  in 
atmospheric  purification  (p.  185).  Consequently 
the  subjoined  observations  were  in  the  line  of 


262  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

his  activities.  His  friend  Mitchill  designated 
them  "an  important  article  of  intelligence." 
They  had  reference  to  the  caoutchouc  found  in 
certain  milky  plants,  near  Philadelphia.  Wood- 
house  observed: 

"During  the  summer  season  I  made  a  variety 
of  experiments  upon  the  milky  plants  of  this 
country,  and  find  that  many  of  them,  as 
Apocynum  Cannabinum  or  Indian  Hemp,  Son- 
chus  Floridanus  or  Sowthistle,  Asclepias  Suriaca 
or  Syrian  Swallow-wort,  Euphorbia  Picta  or 
Painted  Spurge,  and  a  few  others  yield  a  pro- 
duct which  possesses  nearly  the  same  properties 
as  the  Caoutchouc  of  South  America. 

"The  milk  in  these  vegetables  answers  the 
same  purpose  as  the  blood  in  animals,  and  may 
very  properly  be  called  the  white  blood  of  plants. 
When  this  kind  of  milk  is  received  in  a  vessel 
exposed  to  the  air,  it  separates,  like  the  blood 
of  animals,  into  two  parts,  serum  and  crassa- 
mentum.  If  it  is  exposed  in  contact  with  the 
air  of  the  atmosphere,  confined  by  water,  the 
oxygenous  portion  of  this  air  unites  with  the 
coal  of  the  crassamentum  and  forms  carbonic 
acid  gas,  by  which  means  the  purity  of  this  air 
is  greatly  diminished. 

"When  a  wound,  ever  so  minute,  is  made  in 
one  of  these  milky  vegetables,  it  immediately 
begins  to  bleed,  and  death  would  ensue,  did  not 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  263 

a  coagulum  quickly  form  round  the  abraded 
part.  We  find  the  same  circumstances  take 
place  in  animals  which  have  been  wounded. 

"The  natives  of  South  America  make  torches 
of  the  Caoutchouc;  and  the  coagulum  of  our 
native  milky  plants  is  equally  as  inflammable 
as  the  gum-elastic,  and  burns  exactly  in  the 
same  manner,  giving  a  vivid  light,  and  throw- 
ing off  a  considerable  quantity  of  lamp-black, 
or  the  charcoal  of  oils. 

"When  the  white  juice  of  the  Apocynum 
Cannabinum  is  received  in  a  cup,  it  immediately 
coagulates;  the  coagulum  may  be  drawn  thirty 
times  its  length,  and  it  will  instantly  contract 
again  to  its  original  size. 

"The  caoutchouc,  and  the  coagulum  of  our 
lactiferous  vegetables,  exposed  in  a  glass  tube 
to  a  red  heat,  yield  a  portion  of  the  oil  of  tur- 
pentine, and  large  quantities  of  carbonated 
hydrogenous  gas,  which  has  a  very  disagreeable 
smell." 

There  is  apparent  also  in  this  communication, 
reference  to  public  welfare  and  service.  It  is 
seen  constantly  in  his  writings.  It  comes 
strongly  to  the  front  in  his  observations  on  the 
stem  and  root  of  the  Xanthorhiza  tinctoria,  or 
shrub  yellow  root,  in  which  he  seeks  to  apply  its 
tinctorial  power  as  well  as  its  medicinal  prop- 
erties. His  description  of  the  plant  is  so  de- 


264  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

lightful  that  every  one  will  enjoy  reading 
that: 

"The  Xanthorhiza  tinctoria  is  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  and  was  first  brought  from 
that  State  into  Pennsylvania,  about  forty  years 
since,  by  Mr.  John  Bartram,  then  Botanist  to  the 
King  of  Great  Britain,  and  planted  in  his  garden 
at  Kingsess,  in  the  county  of  Philadelphia, 
where  it  has  continued  to  flourish  in  a  most 
luxuriant  manner.  The  stems  reach  the  height 
of  three  feet,  and  are  generally  somewhat 
thicker  than  the  barrel  of  a  goose-quill.  The 
root  is  from  three  to  twelve  inches  long,  about 
the  diameter  of  a  man's  little  finger,  sending  off 
numerous  scions,  sometimes  two  feet  in  length, 
by  which  means  it  spreads  considerably." 

He  next  refers  to  its  CHARACTERS  OF 
FRUCTIFICATION,  and  after  emphasizing 
that  the  stem  and  root  of  the  xanthorhiza  are 
of  a  bright  yellow  colour,  and  possess  a  strong 
bitter  taste,  he  outlines  experiments  made  with 
different  parts  of  the  plant,  "to  ascertain  its 
virtues." 

"1.  Pump-water,  digested  on  the  stems  and 
roots  in  coarse  powder,  received  a  yellow  colour 
and  tasted  bitter. 

"2.  Water,  repeatedly  boiled  on  the  stems 
and  roots,  extracted  the  greatest  part  of  the 
colouring  matter. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  265 

"3.  The  stems  and  roots,  distilled  with  a 
gentle  heat,  produced  some  water,  which  con- 
tained none  of  the  qualities  of  the  plant. 

"4.  One  pint  of  alkohol,  digested  in  half  an 
ounce  of  the  bruised  roots,  contracted  a  deep 
yellow  colour,  and  possessed  an  intensely  bitter 
taste. 

"5.  This  alkohol,  being  filtered,  gave,  by 
spontaneous  evaporation  in  the  open  air,  two 
scruples  of  a  yellow  resinous  extract. 

"6.  One  pint  of  alkohol  and  water,  digested 
on  half  an  ounce  of  the  bruised  roots  receives  a 
pale  yellow  colour. 

"7.  This  diluted  alkohol,  evaporated  to  dry- 
ness,  left  thirty  grains  of  extracted  matter. 

"8.  Water,  added  to  the  tincture  of  the 
stems  and  roots  in  alkohol,  rendered  it  muddy. 

"9.  Pieces  of  silk,  cloth,  flannel,  cotton  and 
linen,  were  boiled  in  a  decoction  of  the  powdered 
stems  and  roots.  The  silk  received  a  bright 
yellow  colour,  the  cloth  a  drab,  the  flannel  a 
pale  yellow,  and  the  cotton  and  linen  would 
not  take  the  colouring  particles. 

"10.  This  silk,  cloth  and  flannel,  were  exposed, 
twenty  days,  to  the  action  of  the  solar  light,  in 
a  temperature  varying  from  105  to  115  deg. 
of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer,  along  side  of 
other  pieces  of  the  same  kind  of  stuffs,  dyed  with 
fustic,  saffron,  and  turmeric. 


266  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"In  a  few  hours  the  light  and  oxygen  of  the 
atmospheric  air  altered  all  these  colours  a  little, 
except  that  of  the  cloth.  The  colouring  matter 
of  the  tumeric  first  disappeared,  then  of  the 
saffron — that  of  the  Xanthorhiza  stood  nearly 
as  well  as  the  fustic. 

"11.  Pieces  of  silk  were  boiled  in  the  follow- 
ing mordants :  Solution  of  alum,  alum  and  pot- 
ash, or  sulphate  of  pot-ash  and  alumine;  cream 
of  tartar  and  alum,  or  tartrite  of  alumine  and 
sulphate  of  pot-ash;  saccharum  and  alum,  or 
sulphate  of  lead  and  acetate  of  alumine;  and 
the  murio-sulphate  of  tin.  They  were  then 
dyed  with  the  Xanthorhiza,  and  received  dif- 
ferent shades  of  yellow.  Other  pieces  of  silk 
were  also  boiled  in  the  same  kind  of  mordants, 
and  dyed  with  quer-citron  bark,  weld,  fustic, 
turmeric,  saffron,  and  the  roots  of  hydrastis 
canadensis,  the  simple  tincture  of  which  imparts 
to  silk  a  rich  and  superb  yellow  colour.  The 
whole  were  exposed  to  the  light  of  the  sun,  in 
atmospheric  air,  twenty-seven  days,  in  a  tem- 
perature varying  from  110  to  115  deg.  of 
Fahrenheit.  The  colouring  matter  of  the  tum- 
eric and  saffron  was  the  most  fugitive.  The  silk 
dyed  with  the  quer-citron  bark,  with  saccharum 
saturni  and  alum,  for  a  mordant,  stood  best. 
The  others  contracted  a  brown  cast,  except  the 
weld,  which  had  faded. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  267 

"12.  A  portion  of  the  roots  grated,  mixed 
with  a  small  quantity  of  water,  strained  through 
a  rag,  and  evaporated  to  dryness  in  the  shade, 
produced  a  yellow  extract,  which  was  mixed 
with  a  portion  of  alum. 

"13.  Paper  was  coloured  yellow  with  this 
preparation,  and  green  by  mixing  it  with 
Prussian  blue.  This  paper  was  exposed  to  the 
light  of  the  sun  in  a  temperature  of  105  deg.  of 
Fahrenheit  along  side  of  other  paper,  stained  in 
a  similar  manner  with  gamboge.  In  a  few  hours 
the  yellow  and  green  of  the  Xanthorhiza  were 
considerably  altered  for  the  worse,  while  those 
of  the  gamboge  were  not  affected. 

"14.  The  leaves,  stems  and  roots  separately 
burnt  in  the  open  air,  yielded  ashes,  to  which 
warm  water  was  added.  The  water  being 
filtered  and  evaporated  to  dryness,  produced  a 
small  quantity  of  pot-ash.  Some  siliceous  and 
aluminous  earth  remained  on  the  filter. 

"15.  A  handful  of  the  leaves,  exposed  three 
hours  to  the  influence  of  the  solar  light,  in 
forty  ounce  measures  of  pumpwater,  gave 
twelve  drachm  measures  of  oxygen  gas,  which 
devoured  nearly  three  equal  measures  of  nitrous 
air. 

"16.  A  green  tincture  of  the  leaves  in  alkohol 
was  exposed  in  a  dark  place  to  the  light  of  the 
sun,  in  atmosphere  of  oxygenous,  azotic,  and 


268  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

hydrogen  gases.  That  which  was  placed  in  the 
oxygen  gas,  in  the  light,  in  a  few  days  con- 
tracted a  yellow  and  afterwards  a  red  colour. 
No  alteration  was  produced  in  the  rest. 

"17.  A  stem,  two  feet  long,  was  placed  in  a 
solution  of  nitre,  and  of  the  sulphates  of  iron 
and  copper.  All  these  agents  were  taken  up  by 
the  absorbents  of  the  plant,  and  deposited  in  the 
leaves.  The  iron  was  detected  by  placing  the 
stem  in  the  distilled  acid  of  the  unripe  fruit  of 
the  Diospyros  Virginiana,  or  persimmon  tree; 
the  copper,  by  putting  it  in  ammoniac,  when 
the  leaves  were  turned  of  various  shades  of 
brown.  The  presence  of  the  nitre  was  shown  by 
setting  fire  to  the  leaves,  when  they  burnt  like 
paper  soaked  in  a  solution  of  this  salt. 

"It  appears,  from  these  experiments,  that  the 
Xanthorhiza  tinctoria  contains  a  gum  and  resin, 
both  of  which  are  intensely  bitter;  the  resin 
being  more  abundant  than  the  gum.  From  the 
small  quantity  which  is  obtained  from  half  an 
ounce  of  the  stem  and  root,  by  one  pint  of 
alkohol,  it  is  probable  that  part  of  it  is  carried 
off  in  the  vapour  of  this  volatile  fluid. 

"It  imparts  a  drab  colour  to  cloth,  and  a 
handsome  yellow  to  silk,  but  the  dye  will  not 
take  on  cotton  or  linen,  as  the  colouring  par- 
ticles have  no  elective  attraction  for  these 
stuffs.  The  different  mordants  which  were 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  269 

used  altered  the  shade  of  the  yellow  colour 
considerably,  but  did  not  appear  to  render  it 
more  permanent.  While  every  shade  of  this 
elegant  colour  can  be  obtained  from  that  truly 
valuable  drug,  the  quer-citron  bark,  I  think  it 
will  always  supercede  the  Xanthorhiza,  and 
every  other  native  yellow  dye,  among  which 
that  of  the  hydrastis  canadensis  may  justly  be 
reckoned  the  most  superb. 

"The  watery  extract  of  the  grated  roots, 
mixed  with  alum,  and  added  to  Prussian  blue, 
was  first  used  by  Mr.  James  Bartram,  for 
colouring  plants,  and  the  plumage  of  birds,  of  a 
green  colour.  The  green  is  far  more  lively  and 
elegant  than  that  made  with  gamboge  and 
Prussian  blue,  which  is  generally  used  for 
painting  in  water  colours,  and  stands  well  in 
the  shade,  but  soon  contracts  a  dull  colour  when 
exposed  to  a  bright  light,  and  to  a  high  tem- 
perature. Various  subjects,  coloured  by  this 
green,  one  year  since,  and  inclosed  in  a  book, 
are  as  lively  at  this  time  as  when  first  painted. 

"The  leaves,  exposed  in  pump-water  to  the 
light  of  the  sun,  afforded  air  of  a  high  degree  of 
purity.  This  air  arises  from  the  decomposition 
of  the  carbonic  acid  which  is  contained  in  most 
water.  The  carbon  of  this  acid  unites  to  the 
leaves,  while  its  oxygen  is  set  at  liberty.  As 
no  pure  air  can  be  obtained  from  these,  or  any 


270  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

other  leaves,  in  distilled  river,  rain  or  lime  water, 
and  as,  from  numerous  experiments,  I  never 
could  find  that  they  purified  common  atmos- 
pheric air,  when  inclosed  in  it,  and  exposed  to 
the  light  of  the  sun,  unless  it  contained  fixed 
air,  I  believe  the  opinion  which  is  almost  uni- 
versally adopted,  that  they  give  to  man  oxygen 
gas  in  any  considerable  quantity,  and  that  he 
yields  them  azotic  air  in  return,  to  be  totally 
false. 

"The  colour  of  the  leaves  appears  to  reside  in 
a  resin,  which  is  altered  by  the  combined  action 
of  light  and  oxygen,  by  either  of  which,  sepa- 
rately, it  cannot  be  affected.  Vide  experiment 
16. 

"Nitre,  the  sulphates  of  iron  and  copper, 
ammoniac,  and  the  gallic  acid,  were  taken  up  by 
the  absorbents  of  the  stem,  and  carried  to  the 
leaves.  The  hyperoxygenated  muriate  of  pot- 
ash is  an  excellent  agent  to  demonstrate  these 
vessels  in  the  leaves  of  some  trees,  as  those  of 
the  Franklinia  alatemaha,  Corylus  avellana, 
etc.,  when  they  become  of  a  deep  brown  colour. 
When  a  leaf  of  Liriodendron  tulipifera  was 
impregnated  with  nitre,  and  set  on  fire,  it 
burned  principally  along  what  have  improperly 
been  called  the  nerves  of  the  leaf,  but  which 
are  now  known  to  contain  absorbent  vessels. 

"As  the  Xanthorhiza  tinctoria  is  a  strong  and 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  271 

pleasant  bitter,  and  very  nearly  allied  to  the 
celebrated  columbo  root,  it  promises  to  become 
a  valuable  addition  to  the  American  Medica. 
It  is  preferable  to  all  out  native  bitters.  The 
bark  of  the  root  of  the  Aristolochia  sipho,  or 
Dutchman's  pipe,  which  is  often  made  use  of 
by  the  inhabitants  near  Pittsburgh  is  a  weak 
aromatic  bitter.  The  root  of  the  Actea  race- 
mosa,  black  snake-root  or  rich  weed,  is  a 
nauseous  bitter.  The  bark  of  the  root  of  the 
Liriodendron  tulipifera,  tulip  or  poplar  tree, 
is  more  pungent  and  aromatic  than  bitter. 
Chironia  angularis,  or  centaury,  Gentiana  sapon- 
aris,  or  blue  gentian,  Veratrum  luteum,  or 
devil's  bit;  the  red  berries  of  cornus  florida,  or 
dog  wood;  and  the  bark  of  several  species  of 
Salix,  or  willow,  are  weaker  bitters  than  the 
yellow  root. 

"I  have  often  used  the  powdered  stem  and 
root  of  the  Xanthorhiza  with  success,  in  the 
dose  of  two  scruples  to  an  adult,  in  many  of 
those  diseases  in  which  bitters  are  recom- 
mended, but  generally  combined  with  other 
remedies.  It  is  a  medicine  which  sits  easy 
upon  the  stomach,  and  produces  no  disagree- 
able effects." 

Reading  a  communication  showing  such  excel- 
lent results,  one  cannot  help  but  admire  the 
breadth  of  Woodhouse's  scientific  purposes. 


272  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

The  people  of  this  new  country  were  to  profit 
as  far  as  possible  from  their  natural  resources, 
aided  by  chemistry. 


In  1807,  on  Monday,  the  14th  of  December,  a 
meteor  fell  at  Weston,  Connecticut.  Portions 
of  this  meteor  were  also  found  six  and  ten 
miles  distant  from  each  other.  The  fall 
attracted  a  large  group  of  interested  scientists, 
among  whom  was  Woodhouse.  What  he  had 
to  say  and  the  analysis  he  made  have  been 
preserved.  They  are  reproduced  because  of 
the  value  they  possess,  even  at  this  distant 
date. 

"The  specific  gravity  of  a  specimen  of  one  of 
these  stones  was  3.696,  at  the  temperature  of 
62°  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer. 

"Like  the  meteoric  stones  of  other  countries, 
when  viewed  through  a  microscope,  they  are 
found  to  consist, 

"  1st.  Of  pyrites  of  a  silvery  colour, 

"2dly.  Of  a  substance  of  an  orange  or  yellow 
colour,  which  is  owing  to  the  oxidation  of  the 
iron  they  contain,  by  means  of  water;  for  these 
colours  did  not  appear  previous  to  putting  the 
stone  in  water,  in  order  to  ascertain  its  specific 
gravity. 

"3dly.  Of  an   ash  coloured   substance,  and, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  273 

"4thly.  Of  small  bodies  of  a  round,  irregular, 
elongated  or  elliptical  figure,  and  black  colour, 
containing  metallic  iron. 

"One  of  these  stones,  weighing  a  hundred 
grains,  moved  the  south  pole  of  a  magnet  seven- 
teen degrees,  and  kept  it  stationary. 

"  One  hundred  grains  of  the  stone  were  reduced 
to  a  fine  powder.  Upon  passing  a  magnet 
through  this  powder,  twenty-two  grains  of  it 
were  separated. 

"According  to  an  analysis  of  one  hundred 
grains  of  one  of  these  stones,  they  were  found 
to  consist  of 

Silex 60 

Iron 27 

Sulphur 7 

Magnesia 10 

Nickel 1 

95 
Loss 5 

100 

"The  sulphur  was  seen  distributed  through 
the  silex,  by  the  naked  eye,  in  round  globules, 
the  size  of  a  pin's  head,  after  dissolving  the 
powdered  stone  in  diluted  nitric  acid. 

"The  quantity  of  nickel  is  guessed  at;  but 
the  presence  of  this  metal  is  evident,  from  the 


274  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

green  colour  of  the  muriatic  solution  of  the 
stone,  and  from  the  purple  precipitate  which 
takes  place,  upon  adding  the  prussiate  of 
ammoniac  to  a  filtered  solution  of  the  stone  in 
marine  acid,  after  it  is  saturated  with  alkaline 
gas,  and  the  iron  separated. 

"An  elaborate  account  of  this  meteor  has 
been  published  by  Messrs.  Silliman  and  Kings- 
ley,  of  Yale  College,  Connecticut." 

Silliman,    writing   his    friend,    Kingsley,    on 
January  23d,  1808,  evidently  had  the  preceding 
report  in  mind. 
"DEAR  KINGSLEY, 

"I  am  by  no  means  ripe  for  an  ultimate 
account  of  everything,  yet,  knowing  your  keen- 
ness for  letters,  I  now  begin  a  few  memoranda. 
We  arrived  on  Wednesday  morning,  after  riding 
all  night  through  New  Jersey.  The  night  was 
very  cold,,  and  we  suffered  much,  but  as  Miss 

W was  very  solicitous  to  get  forward,  I 

would  not  hang  back.  Anecdotes  of  the  journey 
will  come  better  orally, — there  were,  however, 
none  of  any  moment, — but  I  hasten  to  Philadel- 
phia. I  attended  Woodhouse's  lecture  the  day 
after  I  arrived.  He  received  me  politely,  but 
made  no  allusion  to  the  offensive  part  of  his 
letter.  He  showed  me  his  laboratory,  which  is  a 
very  fine  one  indeed.  I  dined  with  him  yester- 
day and  met  a  large  party  of  savans.  I  cannot 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  275 

stay  to  relate  many  particulars.  (Monday  25.) 
The  meteor  is  immediately  brought  forward  in 
every  circle  where  I  go.  It  was  so  at  Wood- 
house's.  He  was  very  modest  and  even  ridi- 
culed the  lunar  theory  which  he  advocated  in 
his  letter." 


There  has  not  been  discovered  a  letter  from 
Woodhouse  containing  "the  offensive  part." 
Perhaps  he  had  anticipated  Silliman  and  Kings- 
ley  in  the  announcement  of  his  results.  He 
was  ostensibly  glad  to  renew  acquaintance  with 
his  old  pupil.  It  is  worth  noting  that  he 
brought  him  in  contact  "with  a  large  party  of 


savans." 


Early  in  1808  Woodhouse  was  engaged  on  the 
question  of  the  cooling  of  water  by  evaporation, 
when  he  wrote: 

"It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  philosophers,  that 
evaporation  always  generates  cold,  and  that  the 
temperature  of  bodies  is  reduced  according 
to  the  volatility  of  the  fluids  applied  to  them, 
and  to  the  warmth  and  dryness  of  the  atmos- 
phere. .  .  . 

"In  India,  Persia,  and  Egypt,  they  make  their 
drinking  cups  of  a  soft  porous  clay,  which,  by 


276  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

suffering  some  of  the  water  to  transude  and 
evaporate,  cools  the  rest. 

"Russel,  in  his  History  of  Aleppo,  informs  us, 
that  the  Turks  cool  their  wine,  in  the  summer 
season,  by  wrapping  a  wet  cloth  round  the  bottle 
which  contains  it,  and  exposing  it  to  the  rays 
of  the  sun. 

"Dr.  Pinkard  tells  us,  that  at  Barbadoes  they 
make  the  wine  and  porter  very  pleasantly  cool, 
by  putting  the  bottles  in  wet  cloth  bags,  and 
placing  them  in  the  open  windows  for  some 
time  before  dinner,  taking  care  to  sprinkle 
them  occasionally  with  water  as  they  stand 
exposed  to  the  breeze. 

"Although  the  thermometer  never  descends 
to  the  freezing  point,  and  ice  is  never  discovered, 
at  Calcutta,  in  the  East  Indies,  in  the  pools  or 
cisterns,  or  in  any  of  the  waters  collected  in  the 
roads,  yet,  by  evaporation,  the  inhabitants 
make  a  sufficient  quantity  of  it  in  the  winter  for 
the  supply  of  the  table  during  the  summer 
season. 

"Travellers  all  agree,  that  water  may  be 
rendered  cool  by  evaporation;  but  none  of  them 
have  informed  us  of  the  exact  degree  of  tem- 
perature to  which  it  may  be  reduced,  by  means 
of  a  thermometer,  the  only  accurate  mode  of 
ascertaining  the  fact. 

"Witman,   in   his  Travels   in  Turkey,   Asia 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  277 

Minor,  and  Syria,  speaks  of  its  being  rendered 
extremely  cool. 

"In  order  to  find  how  low  water  could  be 
cooled  in  Philadelphia,  one  of  the  vessels  which 
the  natives  of  India  use,  was  procured,  and 
two  others  were  made  exactly  like  it,  one  of  our 
common  clay,  and  the  other  of  clay  and  char- 
coal, both  burnt  and  unglazed.  These  vessels 
were  filled  with  water  of  the  temperature  of 
52°,  and  were  kept  swinging  in  the  sun  and 
shade,  for  several  hours  at  a  time,  when  the 
temperature  of  the  atmosphere  varied  from 
86°  to  110°.  The  temperature  of  the  water  in  all 
the  vessels  was  raised  from  52°  to  80°  and  100°, 
and  they  appeared  to  have  no  other  effect  than  in 
preventing  it  from  becoming  disagreeably  warm. 

"As  evaporation  is  always  in  proportion  to 
the  warmth  and  dryness  of  the  air,  it  can  easily 
be  conceived,  that  water  may  be  cooled  in 
Egypt  by  these  vessels,  and  particularly  when 
the  kampsin  or  sirocco  wind  blows;  for  this  air 
is  so  very  warm,  that  it  appears  as  if  issuing 
from  the  mouth  of  an  oven." 


Seriously  and  sympathetically  concerned  in 
the  development  of  chemical  industries  in  his 
native  land,  Woodhouse,  as  early  as  1804,  wrote 
John  Redman  Coxe: 


278  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

"Too  long  have  our  citizens  been  dependent 
upon  other  nations,  for  many  articles,  to  purify 
or  fabricate  which,  requires  but  a  small  capital, 
and  a  very  slight  degree  of  chemical  knowledge. 

"Among  the  subjects  which  we  may  consider 
as  coming  under  this  head,  is  the  obtaining  of 
refined  camphor,  from  the  raw  material. 

"Crude  camphor  is  imported  by  our  mer- 
chants from  Canton  and  Batavia,  where  it  is 
bought  for  fifty  and  seventy-five  cents,  and  sells 
in  this  country,  from  a  dollar,  to  a  dollar  and 
eleven  cents  a  pound. 

"Eight  years  since,  the  refining  of  this  article, 
was  confined  to  two  druggists  in  the  United 
States,  and  at  this  time  there  are  not  more  than 
eight  persons,  who  accurately  understand  the 
process,  all  of  whom  keep  it  a  profound  secret." 

And  then  he  proceeded  to  describe  the 
apparatus  necessary  for  a  refinery.  He  claimed 
it  was  simple,  inexpensive  and  occupied  little 
room.  His  description  reads: 

"It  consists  of  a  furnace,  supporting  a  sand- 
bath,  glass  vessels,  and  iron,  copper  or  earthen 
pans. 

"A  furnace  sufficiently  large  for  one  active 
and  industrious  man  to  attend,  will  occupy  the 
space  of  eight  feet  nine  inches  in  length  and  two 
feet  six  inches  in  breadth.  It  must  be  made  of 
seven  cast-iron  plates,  half  an  inch  thick,  thirty 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  279 

inches  long  and  fifteen  broad.  These  plates 
are  to  be  placed  upon  eight  piles  of  bricks, 
parallel  to  each  other,  and  nine  inches  apart. 
The  bricks  are  to  be  ten  inches  high,  thirty  long, 
and  six  broad. 

"Great  care  must  be  taken,  that  the  lower 
sides  of  the  plates  meet  each  other  exactly  mid- 
way on  the  upper  side  of  the  bricks,  which  should 
be  well  covered,  with  a  thick  bed  of  mortar. 
Bricks  serve  to  confine  the  sand.  When  the 
furnace  is  connected  with  a  wall,  there  is  no 
occasion  for  more  than  a  single  row  of  them: 
and  to  obtain  a  considerable  draught  of  air  a 
chimney  should  be  carried  from  the  fourth 
plate,  with  an  aperture  four  inches  in  diameter, 
and  the  flues  of  the  third  and  fifth  plate,  may  be 
carried  from  the  second  and  sixth  plates,  and 
the  first  and  seventh  should  enter  the  second 
and  sixth. 

"The  chimney,  if  convenient,  may  be  made  to 
enter  into  that  of  the  house,  but  if  not,  it  should 
be  about  fifteen  feet  high. 

"The  glass  vessels  may  be  procured  at  a 
glass-house  and  are  made  of  green  glass.  They 
should  be  blown  as  thin  as  an  oil  flask.  They 
should  be  circular  in  form,  shaped  flat  like  a 
turnip,  and  have  a  neck  from  one  to  three  inches 
high,  with  an  aperture,  from  half  an  inch  to 
one  inch  in  diameter.  Their  bottoms  should 


280  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

be  eleven  inches  broad,  and  the  top  ought  to  be 
four  inches  from  the  bottom. 

"They  would  cost  twenty -five  dollars  a  hun- 
dred in  Philadelphia. 

"Fourteen  pans  may  be  made  of  iron,  copper 
or  earth.  Sheet  iron  is  the  best  material.  They 
should  be  round,  one  foot  in  diameter,  with  a 
rim  pecked  on  four  inches  and  a  half  high,  and 
ought  to  have  two  small  handles.  They  would 
cost  one  dollar  a  piece  in  this  city. 

"Having  prepared  for  this  necessary  appara- 
tus, the  next  thing  is  to  make  use  of  it,  in  such 
a  manner,  as  to  refine  the  camphor. 

"Having  taken  the  article  out  of  the  tubs,  the 
glass  vessels  should  be  filled  two-thirds  full  of 
it,  and  the  apertures  in  the  necks,  slightly 
stopped,  with  paper  or  cotton  plugs.  They 
should  then  be  placed  on  the  bottom  of  the 
pans,  and  covered  near  to  the  base  of  their 
necks  with  sand. 

"The  pans,  holding  the  vessels  containing  the 
camphor,  should  be  carried  to  the  sand-bath, 
and  surrounded  near  to  the  top  of  the  rim 
with  sand. 

"Kindle  a  gentle  fire  in  the  furnace,  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  gradually  increase 
it  until  the  camphor  melts,  which  it  does  when 
it  arrives  at  304°  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer. 
It  will  first  rise  in  flowers,  which  will  dissolve, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  281 

and  run  down  the  sides  of  the  vessel.  When  it 
has  melted,  or  is  boiling,  the  glass  should  be 
elevated  in  such  a  manner  that  the  hot  sand,  may 
reach  only  to  the  middle  of  its  belly,  in  order 
that  the  cool  air  may  be  admitted  to  the  upper 
surface  of  the  glass,  to  congeal  the  camphor  as 
it  sublimes. 

"Having  kept  it  in  a  liquid  or  boiling  state, 
from  eight  to  ten  hours,  the  refined  camphor 
will  be  found,  adhering  to  the  upper  side  of  the 
vessel,  and  should  be  taken  from  it  by  breaking 
the  glass  while  hot,  or  it  may  be  easily  separated 
from  it,  by  means  of  a  knife. 

"Break  into  pieces  the  foul  parts  which  adhere 
to  the  bottom  of  the  glass,  and  which  cannot  be 
easily  parted  from  it,  and  sublime  a  second  time, 
with  an  additional  supply  of  camphor. 

"  When  the  crude  camphor  is  of  a  white  colour, 
or  contains  little  foreign  matter,  no  addition  is 
to  be  made  to  it;  but  when  it  is  brown  or  black, 
one  ounce  of  slacked  or  quick  lime,  should  be 
mixed  with  every  three  or  four  pounds  of  it. 
The  utility  of  lime  in  this  operation,  was 
noticed  by  Margraff. 

"One  man  can  refine  and  pack  up,  from 
eighteen  to  twenty -five  pounds  every  day. 

"If  any  of  the  glass  vessels  holding  the  melted 
copper  should  crack,  which  sometimes  happens, 
and  which  is  discovered,  by  the  flowers  rising 


282  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

into  the  air  from  their  sides  and  tops,  the  pans 
containing  it  are  to  be  immediately  removed  to 
a  cool  place;  and  if  the  camphor  is  found  mixed 
with  the  sand,  the  whole  should  be  put  into 
other  vessels,  and  the  operation  conducted  as 
before. 

"The  loss  in  refining  one  hundred  weight  of 
this  article  cannot  be  accurately  ascertained,  as 
it  depends  upon  the  purity  of  the  crude  material, 
and  the  care  in  conducting  the  process.  It  can- 
not be  very  great. 

"Professor  Robertson,  in  a  note  to  Dr.  Black's 
Chemistry,  informs  us,  that  in  a  manufactory 
in  Holland,  he  saw  more  than  one  hundred  ves- 
sels in  a  furnace  at  one  time,  and  that  there  was 
but  a  moderate  smell  of  camphor  in  the  room. 

"I  hope  that  this  very  useful  process  may 
become  generally  known  in  the  United  States." 

To  his  friend  Coxe  he  also  submitted,  in  1805, 
some  experiments  made  with  the  Lehigh  coal, 
saying: 

"Other  inflammable  substances,  will,  no 
doubt,  be  discovered  in  the  United  States,  and 
should  they  be  submitted  to  a  proper  course  of 
experiments,  bodies,  apparently  of  the  same 
nature,  may  be  distinguished  from  one  another, 
important  services  may  be  rendered  to  our 
citizens,  the  arts  benefited,  and  a  foundation 
laid  for  a  system  of  American  mineralogy." 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  283 

Turning  to  the  main  purpose  of  his  com- 
munication, he  added: 

"This  coal  is  found  in  immense  quantities, 
in  Pennsylvania,  in  the  county  of  Northampton, 
near  the  river  Lehigh.  It  is  of  a  shining  black 
colour,  and  stains  the  hands  very  little.  Its 
fragments  are  tabular,  as  may  be  seen,  par- 
ticularly after  it  has  been  submitted  to  heat. 
Its  specific  gravity  is  1.6181.  It  burns 
with  very  little  flame,  and  no  smoke;  is 
with  some  difficulty  kindled,  and  requires  a 
considerable  draught  of  air,  to  keep  up  its 
combustion. 

"When  perfectly  consumed,  it  leaves  behind,  a 
small  portion  of  white  siliceous  earth,  containing 
no  pot-ash,  and  sometimes  coloured  brown  by 
means  of  iron.  It  does  not  contain  any  sulphur. 

"Neither  the  sulphuric,  nitric,  nor  muriatic 
acids  act  upon  it. 

"It  does  not  take  fire,  when  reduced  to  an 
impalpable  powder,  and  passed  through  the 
flame  of  a  candle. 

"A  piece  of  it,  red  hot,  containing  about 
eight  cubic  inches,  was  placed  in  forty-eight 
ounce  measures  of  atmospheric  air  over  water, 
and  suffered  to  cool.  Upon  passing  one  meas- 
ure of  this  air  over  lime  water,  in  the  Eudiometer 
of  Fontana,  it  gave  one  per  cent  of  carbonic 
acid  gas.  The  remainder  of  the  air,  after 


284  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

being  freed  from  the  fixed  air,  was  reduced  in 
purity  from  100  to  85. 

"One  cubic  inch  of  it,  red  hot,  suspended  in 
ten  ounce  measures  of  oxygen  gas,  brightened 
very  little. 

"The  focus  of  an  eleven-and-a-half  inch  lens, 
was  directed  upon  a  lump  of  it,  confined  in  a 
bell-glass,  in  twelve  ounce  measures  of  oxygen 
gas,  over  water,  when  it  burnt  with  a  consider- 
able flame,  and  nearly  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  James  river  coal,  when  a  blast  of  atmospheric 
air  is  thrown  upon  it.  The  gas  was  afterwards 
reduced  in  purity,  and  contained  fifty  per  cent 
of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

"A  quantity  of  the  coal  red  hot,  being  extin- 
guished under  water,  produced  an  inflammable 
air,  without  any  mixture  of  fixed  air. 

"Two  measures  of  this  gas,  and  one  of  oxygen 
air,  exploded  by  the  electric  spark,  in  the  Eudi- 
ometer of  Volta,  left  behind  one  measure  of 
hydrogen  gas,  containing  ten  per  cent  of  car- 
bonic acid  gas.  Two  measures  of  each  of  the 
gases,  by  the  same  means,  were  reduced  to 
something  more  than  a  measure  of  oxygen  air, 
which  was  mixed  with  fifteen  per  cent  of  fixed 
air. 

"Four  ounces  of  it,  reduced  to  a  coarse 
powder,  were  exposed  in  an  earthen  retort,  to  a 
red  heat  in  one  of  Lewis's  black  lead  furnaces, 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  285 

when  it  yielded  three  hundred  and  sixty  ounce 
measures  of  hydrogen  gas,  of  the  same  kind  as 
that  produced  by  extinguishing  it,  when  red 
hot,  under  water. 

"The  same  coal  taken  from  the  retort,  and 
sprinkled  with  water,  and  exposed  a  second 
time  to  heat,  afforded  thirty  ounce  measures  of 
inflammable  air,  in  the  first  portions  of  which, 
the  carbonic  acid  was  barely  perceptible. 

"The  steam  of  water  was  transmitted  over 
the  coal' red  hot,  confined  in  a  porcelain  tube, 
and  it  gave  hydrogen  gas  in  torrents,  mixed 
with  ten  per  cent  of  fixed  air.  Two  measures 
of  this  hydrogen  gas,  after  the  carbonic  acid 
had  been  separated  from  it,  and  one  of  oxygen 
gas,  left  near  a  measure  of  inflammable  air, 
mixed  with  fifty  per  cent  of  fixed  air. 

"A  fire  was  kindled  at  half  past  eleven  o'clock, 
by  placing  a  quantity  of  the  Lehigh  coal,  upon 
a  stratum  of  common  charcoal  in  a  powerful  air 
furnace,  which  was  then  filled  with  equal  por- 
tions of  the  two  substances. 

"As  fast  as  the  charcoal  consumed,  the 
Northampton  coal  was  added,  and  at  half  past 
one,  the  furnace  was  completely  filled  with  it, 
and  two-thirds  of  it  red  hot.  At  four  the  coal 
was  half  consumed,  and  it  continued  burning 
until  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 

"Five   of   Wedgwood's   thermometer   pieces, 


286  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

put  in  crucibles  made  of  porcelain,  were  de- 
posited in  different  places  among  the  coal,  that 
they  might  descend  in  different  directions,  and 
some  of  them  be  exposed  to  the  greatest  degree 
of  heat. 

"When  they  were  cool,  being  measured  by 
the  guage,  they  gave  70,  77,  150,  156,  and  159 
degrees. 

"125  is  the  highest  heat  Mr.  Wedgwood 
could  ever  produce,  in  a  common  smith's  forge, 
and  160  in  an  air  furnace,  eight  inches  square. 
Brass  melts  at  twenty-one,  copper  at  twenty- 
seven,  silver  at  twenty-eight,  gold  at  thirty-two, 
and  cast-iron  at  one  hundred  and  thirty  of  this 
thermometer.  The  welding  heat  of  iron  is  one 
hundred  and  twenty -five. 

"James  river  coal,  submitted  to  an  experiment 
of  the  same  kind,  burned  out  in  four  hours. 

"A  fire  was  made  with  the  Lehigh  coal  in  a 
smith's  forge,  and  two  thick  bars  of  iron  were 
placed  in  it,  and  welded  with  great  ease,  by  the 
proprietor  of  the  furnace. 

"The  smith,  his  journeymen,  and  bystanders 
were  convinced,  that  the  heat  was  much  cleaner 
and  greater,  than  that  of  the  James  river  coal. 

"As  the  Virginia  coal  burns  with  flame  and 
much  smoke,  a  vast  portion  of  this  combustible 
substance,  and  the  heat  generated  by  it,  are  lost 
by  passing  up  the  chimney. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  287 

"It  appears  from  some  of  these  experiments, 
that  this  coal  does  not  unite  to  the  base  of 
oxygen  gas,  with  as  much  rapidity  as  common 
charcoal,  and  that  it  decomposes  water.  Its 
flame  consisting  of  oxyde  of  carbon,  or  car- 
bonated hydrogen  gas,  arises  from  this  decom- 
position. 

"When  it  is  exposed  to  a  red  heat,  and  con- 
tains little  water,  it  gives  rise  to  a  peculiar 
species  of  inflammable  air  without  any  fixed 
air;  but  when  the  steam  of  water  is  transmitted 
over  it,  in  a  red  heat,  the  production  of  carbonic 
acid  gas  is  very  considerable,  and  when  the 
hydrogen  gas,  thus  obtained,  is  fired  with  oxygen 
gas,  the  fixed  air  generated  amounts  to  thirty- 
five  per  cent  more  than  when  it  is  procured 
from  coal  united  to  a  small  quantity  of  water. 

"According  to  the  opinions,  now  generally 
adopted  by  the  Philosophers  of  Europe,  the 
gases,  when  little  water  is  mixed  with  the  coal, 
must  consist  of  oxyde  of  carbon  and  car- 
bonated hydrogen  gas.  It  will  be  said,  the 
oxygen  of  the  water,  unites  to  part  of  the  coal, 
and  forms  oxyde  of  carbon,  while  its  hydrogen 
escapes,  dissolves  a  portion  of  the  coal,  and 
makes  carbonated  hydrogen  gas. 

"This  explanation  is  far  from  being  satisfac- 
tory, for  no  oxyde  of  carbon  can  be  detected  in 
the  gases,  produced  by  extinguishing  this  coal 


288  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

when  red  hot  under  water,  or  by  submitting  it 
to  heat  in  an  earthen  retort. 

"The  Lehigh  coal  promises  to  be  particularly 
useful,  where  a  long  continued  heat  is  necessary, 
as  in  distilling,  or  in  evaporating  large  quantities 
of  water  from  various  substances;  in  the  melt- 
ing of  metals,  or  in  subliming  of  salts:  in 
generating  steam  to  work  steam  engines,  and  in 
common  life,  for  washing,  cooking,  &c.,  pro- 
vided the  fireplaces  are  constructed  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  keep  up  a  strong  draught 
of  air." 

This  superiority  of  the  anthracite  coal  from 
the  Lehigh  district  over  the  bituminous  coal  of 
the  Southern  regions  was  met  with  generous 
acclaim.  Journals,  periodicals,  and  scientific 
publications  commented  most  favorably  upon 
the  experiments. 

One  of  the  very  last  series  of  experiments 
instituted  by  Woodhouse  related  to  the  "raising 
of  wheat  flour  and  buck-wheat  meal."  One  can- 
not but  admire  his  zeal  for  the  applied  phases 
of  chemistry.  To  him  they  represented  com- 
fort, welfare,  progress  and  wealth,  not  for  him- 
self, but  for  the  country  at  large.  On  this  new 
subject  he  declared  it  is  believed  and  taught 
"that  the  raising  pf  bread  is  merely  owing  to  a 
discharge  of  carbonic  acid  gas  or  fixed  air; 
and  it  has  been  asserted,  that  there  is  no  dif- 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  289 

ference  between  the  properties  of  flour,  and 
bread  when  it  has  been  baked." 

"The  principal  argument  in  support  of  this 
opinion  is,  that  all  waters  which  contain  car- 
bonic acid,  such  as  those  of  the  Saratoga  and 
Ballstown  springs,  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
easily  raise  bread. 

"It  is  not  my  intention  to  prove  that  the 
raising  of  dough  is  not  owing  to  an  escape  of 
fixed  air,  but  to  show, 

"First,  that  flour  mixed  with  water,  however 
strongly  impregnated  with  carbonic  acid,  will 
not  make  light  bread. 

"Secondly,  that  the  best  bread  can  be  made 
without  any  fixed  air;  and 

"Thirdly,  that  a  chemical  change  takes  place 
in  the  component  parts  of  flour  when  it  is  made 
into  bread,  and  which  arises  from  the  decom- 
position of  water. 

"A  quantity  of  water,  impregnated  with  car- 
bonic acid,  by  strong  compression,  was  accu- 
rately mixed  with  buckwheat  meal,  and  exposed 
to  a  proper  temperature.  It  exhibited  no  signs 
of  rising;  the  meal  subsided  into  a  heavy  mass, 
and  the  water  floated  over  its  surface. 

"A  quantity  of  yeast  was  filtered.  A  viscid 
residuum  remained  on  the  filter,  which  con- 
tained no  carbonic  acid.  Half  a  teaspoonful  of 
this  substance,  triturated  with  warm  water,  and 


290  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

well  mixed  with  buckwheat  meal,  raised  it 
completely  in  four  hours. 

"Dough  was  made  from  wheat  flour,  by  well 
mixing  it  with  water  containing  carbonic  acid. 

"It  was  also  made  with  the  viscid  residuum 
and  water. 

"The  masses  were  placed  alongside  of  each 
other  by  the  fire,  and,  in  the  space  of  a  few 
hours,  that  made  with  the  residuum  was  well 
raised,  but  the  mass  from  the  carbonic  acid 
exhibited  no  change;  and  when  the  two  were 
baked,  the  loaf  made  without  the  fixed  air  was 
extremely  light  and  spongy,  whereas  the  other 
was  tough  and  heavy. 

"These  experiments  clearly  prove,  that  buck- 
wheat meal  may  be  raised,  and  excellent  wheat 
bread  made,  without  any  fixed  air;  and  that 
water,  however  strongly  impregnated  with  car- 
bonic acid,  and  mixed  with  flour,  will  not  afford 
good  bread. 

"The  bakers  of  Paris  make  this  article  of  an 
excellent  quality,  yet  all  their  yeast  is  brought  in 
bags,  in  a  dry  state,  from  Flanders  and  Picardy. 

"Good  yeast  contains  a  large  quantity  of 
fixed  air;  but  so  little  of  it  is  used  in  raising 
buckwheat  meal  and  wheat  dough,  that  it  can- 
not have  much  effect  in  raising  these  substances. 

"By  boiling  forty  cubic  inches  of  yeast  in  a 
glass  retort,  the  mouth  of  which  communicated 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  291 

with  a  receiver  filled  with  mercury,  fifty-two 
cubic  inches  of  fixed  air  were  obtained. 

"A  small  loaf  of  bread  was  raised  with  the 
viscid  residuum  in  one  hundred  and  four  cubic 
inches  of  atmospheric  air,  confined  by  water. 
In  the  space  of  sixteen  hours,  the  air  was  found 
to  contain  forty  cubic  inches  of  carbonic  acid 
gas.  Upon  washing  away  the  fixed  air,  and 
testing  the  atmospheric  air  by  phosphorus,  it 
was  found  to  have  undergone  no  alteration. 

"Buckwheat  meal  was  raised  in  the  same 
manner,  and  with  the  like  effect. 

"These  experiments  prove,  that  a  chemical 
change  takes  place  in  the  component  parts  of 
flour,  when  it  is  made  into  bread.  No  carbonic 
acid  was  contained  in  the  dough  when  it  was 
first  made,  and  yet,  in  a  short  time,  forty  cubic 
inches  of  this  gas  were  formed. 

"Fixed  air  is  composed  of  carbon  and  oxygen. 

"As  no  oxygen  is  contained  in  the  flour,  and 
no  carbon  in  the  water,  the  oxygen  of  the  water 
must  combine  with  the  carbon  of  the  flour,  and 
generate  the  air  which  raises  the  bread. 

"It  is  difficult  to  say  what  becomes  of  the 
hydrogen  of  the  decomposed  water.  It  does  not 
unite  with  another  portion  of  oxygen  and  car- 
bon to  form  alkohol  for  none  of  this  fluid  can  be 
procured  by  distilling  dough  or  buckwheat  meal, 
after  they  have  been  raised." 


292  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

This  brief  paper  is  a  forerunner  of  the  won- 
derfully fruitful  studies  which  have  since  been 
made  on  the  same  subject,  and  which  at  present 
are  being  augmented  and  improved  so  abun- 
dantly at  many  centers  of  research.  It  is  a  fas- 
cinating problem — the  chemistry  of  the  bakery! 

Could  Woodhouse  have  lived  to  witness  the 
advances  in  this  particular  field,  he  would 
doubtless  have  rejoiced  that  his  simple,  early 
efforts  had  borne  such  fruit.  Indeed,  there  is 
not  a  single  subject  to  which  he  gave  attention, 
that  did  not  later  become  an  object  of  intense 
investigation.  He  blazed  the  way  in  so  many 
fields  that  it  is  a  pity  he  could  not  have  lived  to 
behold  and  comprehend  the  splendid  results 
which  flowed  from  them.  This,  however,  was 
denied  him.  In  the  prime  of  life — not  yet  thirty- 
nine  years  old — and  after  a  too  brief  career,  which 
extended  from  1795  to  1809 — just  fourteen 
years — death  came  most  unexpectedly,  on  Sun- 
day afternoon,  June  4,  1809.  This  was  the 
brief  announcement  in  the  daily  papers.  Apo- 
plexy was  the  cause.  He  was  found  dead  in  his 
bed.  He  was  unmarried.  His  collection  of 
medical  books  went  to  the  Pennsylvania  Hos- 
pital; his  minerals  to  the  American  Philosophical 
Society.  Search  among  his  books  disclosed 
nothing  that  would  have  aided  in  the  recital 
of  his  life  story.  This  is  to  be  regretted. 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  293 

His  untimely  death  brought  sorrow  to  his 
friends  and  colleagues.  The  students  in  medi- 
cine adopted  unanimously  this  minute: 

"Resolved,  That  in  testimony  of  the  high 
respect  and  affectionate  attachment  which  we 
entertain  for  the  late  Professor  Woodhouse, 
that  each  of  us  will  wear  crape  on  the  arm  for 
the  space  of  one  month." 

The  interment  took  place  on  June  7th  from 
his  dwelling  in  Sansom  Street,  and  was  attended 
by  Trustees,  Provost,  and  professors  of  the 
University,  physicians  of  the  city  and  members 
of  the  American  Philosophical  Society. 

The  preceding  pages  give  a  very  true  picture 
of  chemical  science  in  America  during  the 
years  of  Woodhouse's  activity.  From  the 
moment  he  assumed  his  professorship  (1795) 
until  death  laid  him  low  (1809)  he  was  unceas- 
ing in  his  endeavors.  He  entered  upon  this 
career  with  meagre  preparation  and  equipment, 
judged  by  present-day  standards,  but  by  stead- 
fast application  he  gradually  grew  in  power, 
until  his  keenest  critics  were  quite  ready  to 
acknowledge  him  as  leader  and  defer  to  him  all 
questions  pertaining  to  chemistry.  Let  the 
American  field  be  viewed  from  any  standpoint, 
and  there  appears  as  the  outstanding  chemical 
figure  for  a  decade  more  or  less  in  that  now 


294  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

far-away  period,  but  one  person — James  Wood- 
house,  a  genuine  pioneer  in  establishing  correct 
ideas  on  combustion,  respiration,  and  also  the 
composition  and  decomposition  of  water.  In 
short,  Woodhouse  placed  this  country  in  sym- 
pathy with  those  European  lands  which,  but  a 
little  earlier,  had  attached  themselves  to  the 
French  standard,  and  should  he  not,  therefore, 
be  remembered  and  adequately  honored  for  his 
achievements?  There  were  others  just  as  deeply 
interested  in  these  problems  but  they  have 
left  no  mark  of  their  presence;  they  did  not 
participate  by  actual  personal  labours  in  their 
laboratories  in  the  final  overthrow  of  the  old 
doctrine  and  the  firm  introduction  of  the  newer, 
better  views. 

Woodhouse  was  further,  a  pioneer — 
In  plant  chemistry. 

In  the  isolation  of  at  least  one  metal  from  its 
hydroxide  by  an  ingenious,  original 
method  (p.  189). 

In  laboratory  experimentation,  convinced 
that  the  student  could  only  understand 
the  chemical  changes  about  him  if  he 
himself  performed  experiments,  hence 
his  laboratory  guide  (p.  77)  prepared  for 
this  purpose. 

In  chemical  analysis,  no  matter  how  crude 
and  imperfect  his  methods  look  in  these 


JAMES  WOODHOUSE  295 

days.     A  just  idea  of  their  worth  may  be 
best  procured  by  comparing  them  with 
the  methods  in  vogue  among  other  chem- 
ists of  that  time,  at  home  and  abroad. 
In    the    elaboration   of  industrial   chemical 
processes,  for  he  was  a  thorough  convert 
to  the  thought  that  his  science  should 
contribute    to    the     upbuilding    of   his 
country  among  the  nations  of  the  world, 
render  itself  of  use  in  making  happy  and 
comfortable  and  prosperous  the  inhabi- 
tants of  our  newly  born  Republic. 
In  chemical  research  which  became  with  him 
an    all-absorbing    idea,    transmitted    to 
everybody  about  him.     Recall  its  effect 
upon   Robert   Hare,   who   actually   sur- 
passed and  towered  above  his    master, 
in  his  very  first  independent  research. 
Woodhouse's  example  won  for  him  the  esteem, 
not  only  of  his   immediate  colleagues   in  the 
University,  but  also  drew  to  him  such  important 
individuals  in  the  scientific  world  as  Samuel  L. 
Mitchill,  John  Redman  Coxe  and  many  others 
from  various  sections  of  the  Union.     His  pupils 
loved  and  honored  him.     He  lived  and  wrought 
for  them.    His  was  not  a  selfish  life;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  abounded  in  deeds  for  others,  silently, 
unostentatiously,  performed.      He  went  about 
doing  good. 


296  JAMES  WOODHOUSE 

His  administrative  ability  was  attested  by 
service  as  dean  of  the  Medical  School.  This 
demanded  patience,  energy  and  diplomacy. 
Woodhouse  succeeded  to  the  satisfaction  of 
everybody  concerned. 

For  these  numerous  reasons  and  others  which 
will  occur  to  the  reader  of  the  preceding  pages, 
there  is  every  reason  to  be  glad  and  rejoice  that 
the  good  man,  who  wrought  so  well  in  laying  the 
foundations  of  chemistry  in  this  broad  land,  was, 
beyond  dispute,  a  worthy  member  of  the  noble 
guild  of  American  chemists. 

"Who  kindly  shows  a  wanderer  his  way, 
Lights,  as  it  were,  his  torch  from  his  own  torch — 
In  kindling  other's  light,  no  less  he  shines." 


INDEX 


ACCUM,  184 

Acids,  bitters  and  astringents,  47 

Adet,  125,  126,  127 

Agustina,  230 

American,  Basaltes,  87 

American  Mineralogical  Society, 
40 

American  Philosophical  Society, 
58.  140 

Aromatic  Oils,  112 

Antiphlogistic  System  of  Chemis- 
try, 143 

BARTON,  71 

Base  of  Muriatic  Acid,  114 

Becher's  Theory,  127 

Benjamin  Tree,  112 

Berzelius,  190 

Black,  Joseph,  10 

Blistering  Meloes,  116 

CALDWELL,  18,  66,  76,  123,  188 

Camphor  refinery,  278 

Caoutchouc,  263 

Carson,  John,  58 

Chapman,  116 

Chaptal,  Elements  of  Chemistry, 
229 

Chemical  Society  of  Philadelphia, 
38,  84.  118,  154 

Chemistry  of  Plants,  112 

Chymical  Catechism,  213 

Chymistry,  Advantages  of,  216 

Citizen  Genet,  56 

Considerations  on  the  Doctrine  of 
Phlogiston  and  the  Decomposi- 
tion of  Water,  125 


Cooling  water  by  evaporation,  275 
Cooper,  Thomas,  190 
Coxe,  John  Redman,  60,  295 
Cruikshank's  battery.  185,  195 
Calamine,  251 
Curaudau,  189 

DALTON,  147 

Davy,  184,  188,  191,  192,  195,  202 

Deed,  35,  36 

Dippel,  Oil  of,  108 

Dissertation  of  Woodhouse,  18,  20 

Distillation  of  bones,  108 

ECONOMICAL  APPARATUS,  208,  210 
Economical  Laboratory,  208.  213 
Eudiometer,    Woodhouse's    views 
of,  113 

FARADAY,  MICHAEL,  139,  195 
Fever.  Yellow.  57 
Fixed  air.  173 
Fulminating  mercury,  258 

GAY-LUSSAC,  189, 192 
General  St.  Clair,  11 
Genet,  56 

HALL,  FREDERICK,  191 

Hall,  Rev.  James,  84 

Hare,  Robert,  6,  72,  147,  190,  195 

Horse  chestnut,  110 

Hutchinson,  58 

INAUGURAL  THESES  DEDICATED  TO 

WOODHOUSE,  63 
Indelible  ink,  256 


298 


INDEX 


JEFFERSON,  121 
KLAPBOTH,  90, 119 

LAST  DISSERTATION,  182 

Laurus  benzoin,  112 

Lehigh  Coal,  282 

Letter  to  Nicholson's  Journal,  185 

Letters  to  Rush,  12,  13, 14, 15, 16, 

17 

Lewis's  furnace,  137,  167 
Lewis,  Zachariah,  91 
Liberation  of  Potassium,  185 

MACLEAN,  JOHN,  127,  129,  130 
Maclean  to  Woodhouse,  138 
Manganese,  235 
Manufacture  of  Nitre,  41 
McNevin,  122 
Mease,  James,  11 
Medical  Museum,  234,  237,  238 
Medical  Repository,  77,  84,  91,  97, 

116,  143,  202 
Meloe  Clematidis,  116 
Meloe  Nigra,  116 
Menachanite,  231 
Meteor,  274 
Meteoric  stones,  272 
Milky  plants,  262 
Mitchill,  125,  128,  129,  202,  231, 

262,  295 
Morley,  E.  W.,  124 

NITRIC  ACID,  178,  180 

Nitrous  oxide,  200 

Non-action  of  nitric  acid  on  metals, 

101 

Northumberland,  5 
Northumberland  County,  34,  37 


ORE  OF  TITANIUM,  231 

Oxygen,  Preparation  of,  193,  194 

Oxy-muriate  of  potash,  194 

PARKINSON'S   CHEMICAL   POCKET 

BOOK,  207 

Patterson,  Robert  M.,  63 
Percival,  47 
Perkiomen  blende,  248 
Persimmon  bread,  33 
Persimmon,    ingredient    in    black 

dye,  29 

Persimmon,  in  making  ink,  30 
Persimmon,  in  medicine,  27 
Persimmon,  in  tanning  leather,  27 
Persimmon  tree,  18,  20,  26 
Persimmon,  spirit  of,  32 
Peter  Porcupine,  120 
Phlogiston,  117,  121,  124 
Phlogiston  established,  148 
Poison  vine,  12,  14 
Political  tracts,  120 
Potassium,  Liberation  of,  189 
Priestley,  5,  6,  58,  59,  118,  130, 

140,   150,   153,    157,   158,    166, 

176,  180,  181,  182,  261 
Priestley,  Joseph,  Jr.,  36,  37 
Pyrolusite.  234 

RHUS  RADICANB,  12 

Richards,  T.  W.f  124 

Ridgway  Library,  11 

Rochefoucault,  58 

Rush,  Benjamin,  9,  10 

Rush,  collections,  11 

Rush,  Deed  to  Jos.  Priestley.  Jr., 

36 

Rush,  Letters  to,  12,  13, 14,  15, 16 
Rush,  Letter  to  Coxe,  61 
Rush,  Letter  to  Trustees,  60 
Rush.  Letter  to  Woodhouse,  19 


INDEX 


299 


SALINE  GUMS.  54 

Seybert,  Adam,  65,  243.  247,  248, 

253 
Silliman.  6,  56,  66,  73,  75,  76,  108, 

184 
Silliman,  Elements  of  Chemistry, 

108 
Stahl's    Theory    of    Combustion, 

118,  127 
Starch,  110 

THENABD,  118,  189,  192 

The    Young     Chemist's     Pocket 

Companion,  77 
Twining,  Thomas,  6,  7 

UNIVERSITY  OP  PENNSYLVANIA,  9 


VOLTA,  147 
Volta  cell,  195 
Voltaic  current,  188 

WEDGWOOD,  223 

Wheat  flour,  Raising  of,  288 

Wistar,  Dr.,  6 

Wohler,  190 

Woodhouse,  James,  8,  9, 10, 11,  39, 

55,  66,  69,  72,  73,  76, 90,  97, 108, 

130,  182,  187,  231 


Woodhouse,  Death  of,  292 

Woodhouse,  Deed  to  Rush,  34 

Woodhouse,  denial  that  vegetables 
decompose  water,  etc.,  186 

Woodhouse,  Election  to  American 
Philosophical  Society,  64 

Woodhouse,  Election  to  professor- 
ship, 61 

Woodhouse,  Inaugural  disserta- 
tion, 18 

Woodhouse,  Letter  from  Rush,  19 

Woodhouse,  Letter  to  Maclean, 
131 

Woodhouse,  Letter  to  Nicholson's 
Journal,  185 

Woodhouse,  Nitric  acid  and 
metals,  101 

Woodhouse,  Reply  to  Priestley, 
140, 148 

Woodhouse,  the  Pioneer,  294 

Woodhouse,  Voyage  to  London, 
184 


XANTHOBHIZA  TINCTOBIA,  263 
YELLOW  FEVER,  57 


ZINC  MINE,  237,  238 


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